Who Are You
by Willow Edmond
Summary: Mox has returned to his true home in time for the teenage camping session. He's excited about that Seth Rollins kid coming, too. But, not everyone attending the SPWA have Mox's best interests at heart.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes**: Thank you to everyone that is willing to give this third story in the series a try. I hope it meets your expectations. There will be a lot of teenage wrestlers in this story who will have very familiar names, which makes this story about a -3 on the believably scale, but hopefully much higher on the enjoyment scale.

.

**Chapter One**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"_Coward!"_ Roman sneered at the audience. It was Saturday, night, when the Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy put on there free shows, and this was a song and dance he'd been doing for the crowd the last few months. "All of you put your faith, your _devotion_, into a _coward! _ A-" at this point he stopped to wave his hand dramatically about, "-_child_ who unfairly wins the belt and instead of sticking around, runs off with it, leaving the Academy without it. A coward _I _warned you about, and still, you _stupid,_ ignorant people put your faith in him! A common _thief _and an ignorant _coward."_

Backstage, Sefa watched on the monitor and nodded. Roman was getting pretty good at being a sneering asshole lately, good at keeping the feud going, even if one of the players hadn't been there for awhile. Part of Sefa was beginning to wonder if his son was using wrestling to get out his negative feelings about the world in general, and maybe in particular, Sefa himself.

The audience booed appropriately. They had been booing him for awhile, but since Roman started on this constant whine about Mox and the belt, every, single, week, he had stepped across the line. He'd been a false face from the start, but now he was a full on heel. Roman sneered at the audience and the audience booed back. Yet, Roman was in every single show. The weakest looking of all the wrestlers at the academy were put up against Roman, and they all lost, just so that Roman could claim to be undefeated except for that one match, and thus thinking it lead credence to his claims that he'd been cheated out of the belt. The match he just finished was against, a skinny guy, barely eighteen, but looked about fifteen, who called himself Joey Machete. It was not a triumphant victory, no matter how hard Roman pretended to sell the audience that it was. Joey's nickname, by his own admission was Machete, King of the Jobbers.

"Your _boy _is never coming back," Roman continued. "In fact, my father and I have been discussing getting a _new_ belt, a _bette_r belt. Let that little… artful dodger-"

_Who the fuck told him to throw in an Oliver Twist reference?_ Sefa thought, _Lance? I'll bet it was Lance._

"-keep that other belt, we don't need it." Roman continued, "He probably doesn't even _have_ it anymore, he probably pawned it for-"

Before Roman could tell the audience what he believed Mox had pawned the belt for, the sounds of AC/DC's _Back In Black_ came blasting out of the speaker system, the song Mox _always_ used as his entrance music. There might be legal issues about using the music, but since the shows were shown locally and their fan base through the internet, wasn't huge, Sefa's opinion was that he'd wait until he got a cease and desist letter before he'd worry about it.

As the first notes played and the driving beat of the song began, the audience started to cheer and as one, looked towards the entrance ramp. Was it true? Was Mox back? Roman had turned too, a look of suspicion and anger on his face.

The first few lines of the song played, and then from around the corner came Mox, wearing a pair of black jeans and a black denim coat. He held the Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy belt (actually, a belt that merely said "Champion" on it, but it was made with real leather and metal, and weighed as much as most professional belts) in his right hand, his right arm high in the air. In his left hand, he carried a microphone. His music faded out as he got about half way to the ring and he put the mic to his mouth. "Roman Reigns," he said, shaking his head. "Looking for something?" He shook the belt.

"Oh, look, the Prodigal Student returns," Roman said, with a dismissive snort. "At least you brought the belt you _stole_ back with you."

"_Stole?"_ Mox asked, shaking his head. He lowered the belt, went to the ring and climbed inside, going over to Roman. "I _earned_ this belt fair and square and it's mine to do whatever I wanted with it." He raised the belt again, shaking it in the air. People in the best seats could now see the back of the denim coat:

M  
O  
X

was spray painted in what looked like the orange warning paint someone might be able to steal from a construction site. The letters were clumsy, showing that this was the work of an amateur.

"The _only_ reason why I'm back," Mox continued, "Is because people keep telling me how much you're _whining_ about having lost it, so I decided to come back and whip your sorry ass one more time, just to prove whose belt it _really_ is."

"Really?" Roman rolled his eyes as if he was bored to death of Mox and completely uninterested in anything he had to say, despite having done nothing but whine about him for the last several weeks. "_I'd_ be more inclined to think you came her to get a square meal and-" he paused and fanned the air in front of him, as if trying to get rid of a particularly obnoxious odor, "-a _shower."_

Mox's eyes narrowed. "You want to trade insults or do you want to fight?"

Sefa looked up from the monitor at Marc. "You ready, Son?" Marc nodded, going to Gorilla position, and Sefa turned his attention back to the monitor.

"I'd _love_ to fight you," Roman said, "But I just _had_ a fight. You can't-"

Again, Roman was interrupted by music, this time Queen's, _I Want It All_ Marc came out to the top of the entrance, holding a microphone. He was dressed in his usual dress slacks, blue oxford shirt, looking for all the world like middle management on casual Friday. Roman smiled when he saw him. "Marc, would you _please_ explain so Mox here understands that I cannot fight him for the belt now? That I was _just_ in a fight. Use _small_ words, so he'll get it." He sneered at Mox.

The audience groaned anticipating that of course Marc would side with Roman, Marc always seemed to side with Roman, especially if it was something the audience wanted to see, but Roman didn't want to do, but to their delight, Marc shook his head. "Father and I were talking and both of us agree that we need that belt back. If we wait until next week, Mox is likely to disappear with it."

An excited grin spread over Mox's face and he waved the belt around.

"But I just was _in_ a fight!" Roman protested.

"A fight you won easily," Marc reminded him. "We'll give you some time to rest, Roman. You and Mox are going to be the main event."

The audience broke out in wild cheers. "You heard it!" one of the announcers called out, "We're having a title match tonight between Mox and Roman!"

"_Finally,"_ the first color commentator said, "The belt is coming home!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," the other one said. "Roman _did_ just have a fight, and Mox looks raring to go."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Good job you two," Sefa said, as Roman and Mox came backstage.

"Thanks," Mox said, putting the belt down on a table. Now that he was backstage, the expression that straddle the line between irritated and determined faded, and he was grinning. He hadn't been home a full week, and he was back into wrestling. Not just learning, not selling from the concession stand as he had been with HWA, but really _wrestling_, returning to the same storyline with Roman. For the first time since Simon was killed, Mox was feeling like everything was back into place. He'd walked around the first couple days he was home, hardly talking, just walking around the house, touching things as if he needed to be convinced they weren't an illusion.

He also realized he'd gone from "Don't touch me!" to almost clingy, with the Reigns family. He still wasn't sure of strangers, but when Lance had come flying out the door when they returned, flinging himself into Mox's arms as if he were a toddler rater than a recently turned ten year old, Mox had lifted him off the ground and hugged him back just as tight. And when Jen had come out and Lance was put down, she just held her arms out. Mox ran over to her, as Lance had run to him, and wrapped his arms around her. "Mom," He'd whispered.

She'd stroked his hair and said softly, gently into his ear. "Welcome home, Jon, we missed you."

They had celebrated his homecoming that night, eating baked, stuffed, pork chops, with apple glaze, which was Mox's favorite meal. Marc had come for dinner, with his girlfriend Noella, and even Noella acted as if she was grateful he was home too, even though he hadn't even met her before he'd left. "Your leaving left this family with a hole," she had told him later. "A Mox sized hole, and now it's back to normal."

He'd almost wanted to cry, thinking the Reigns had missed him so much that even Marc's girlfriend had noticed. It wasn't that he wanted the Reigns to feel pain, far from it, but oh, it was nice to be missed by the people you loved, by the people you missed yourself.

Now he was backstage at the SPWA arena, thinking that in less than 48 hours, Seth Rollins would be there, and if everything about Seth was as he remembered, the wrestling was going to get even _better._ Especially if they could find some serious talent in the rest of the campers.

Roman grabbed a towel and started wiping himself down with it. "Machete, you sweat like a pig!"

Joey Machete, real name Joseph Michael, was sitting off to the side with a bottle of water, feet on a table, raise the bottle in a mock toast before taking a gulp. "You're welcome," he said, his voice now lower than the voice he used when he was playing his character and a whole lot less whiny sounding. "Look at it this way, pretty boy, it kept your hair wet and your body looking all oiled up."

A look somewhere between horror and shock crossed Roman's face and he threw the towel he had been using into the laundry bin, and grabbed another one. "For some reason, I don't feel very grateful right now. Disgusted is the word I'd use."

Machete laughed and Mox couldn't help but snort himself as Roman rubbed himself down briskly with the new towel.

"You could just, ya know, take a shower," Mox suggested.

"Shut up," Roman said, grinning. "You and your damned logic." He quickly snapped the towel so it hit Mox on the arm, which gave Mox that instant feeling like someone was giving him a shot. Then, he headed off towards the locker room.

Mox sat down next to his father and looked at the monitor, where two other wrestlers, guys that were lifetime members of the SPWA, were wrestling. If they didn't have a promotion to go off with on Saturday nights, they came here. They were good enough, and had wrestled together enough that Sefa barely had to watch their match. _Roman and I are becoming like that,_ Mox thought. Briefly, he remembered wondering if eventually he and Faulk would have become as good together as he and Roman, had Mox been allowed to actually have real matches with real story lines. Unable to stop himself, he shivered.

"Are you okay?" Sefa asked.

"Yeah," Mox said, "Just coming from the bright lights and the heat to the air conditioned dark room."

Sefa grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler on the floor near his feet and gave it to him. "Drink this. Sounds like you need fluid."

Mox took it, even though he knew the shiver hadn't been from any form of dehydration. It was thinking about Faulk. The guy he'd been friends with in HWA. The guy who had kissed him when Mox was having a breakdown. The guy who Mox kissed back, not because he wanted to, but because there was this other part of him, the part of him that had been trained to please, that went into automatic mode.

He got an email from Faulk, sent to him before he'd even gotten home, which he'd finally opened this morning. It was a long email, apologizing for freaking Mox out, explaining that he really thought with Mox's attitude about dating girls, which were highly negative, and Mox's talking about how nobody understood, had been his way of trying to tell him he was gay. Faulk hadn't wanted to start anything, just wanted to let Mox know he was far from alone.

_I'm not saying I didn't find you attractive,_ Faulk wrote. _But, you're still young. and I didn't think you were ready to get into a serious relationship. I just wanted you to know it was okay, that I got it. And, maybe when you were older, we might try going out. I didn't realize you see yourself as Asexual, I've never met anyone who identifies that way. Had I known, I never would have done it. I value our friendship way over my attraction towards you, and hope this doesn't mean we can't be friends anymore_.

Mox had read that email several times, wishing he had more time to compose a proper response, but wanting to get to practicing with Roman, but also sensing that Faulk was likely biting his nails waiting. So, he settled for short and sweet:

_Faulk, it's okay. I don't mind that you're gay, I figure that's your business. I guess Asexual is the best way to put it, I just don't care about sex one way or another, with anyone. And I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression by kissing you back like I did, and then attacking you. I'm okay with you as long as you're okay with me_.

He sent the email, hoping it would be enough, and that no further explanation would be required of him. He wouldn't mind exchanging emails and texts with him, being friends with him, but Mox never wanted to discuss that kiss again.

"Are you okay?" Sefa said, bringing Mox back to the present.

Mox shook his head once as if to shake out the thoughts and smiled at his father. "You don't know how happy I am to be back," he said. "Not just home, but back to wrestling. Like _really_ wrestling with a storyline and everything, not just training. Les and Cody taught me a lot, but it wasn't what I hoped it would be, they never let me do the shows."

"Yeah," Sefa said looking sour for a moment. "I'm sorry, I thought they'd do more with you. I was thinking they would do a whole thing about you having our belt, maybe put you in competition with someone. I talked to them about it, yesterday and they told me that they didn't want to put you in shows until you showed them you were willing to commit to them."

"I can understand that," Mox said, truthfully. "But I would have liked it if they'd _told_ me that instead of making me think I just wasn't good enough."

"They were hazing you," Sefa said. "They knew you'd been some type of star over here, and they wanted to see if you could take being at the very bottom again. Les told me that if you decide to return to Ohio on a more permanent basis? They will be glad to take you back and put you in the house shows."

Mox smiled, but inwardly was shaking his head. He liked knowing he was good enough, but he didn't want to go back to Cincinnati any time soon. Maybe when he was an adult, and it was time to earn his indie cred, if one of the WWF developmental promotions wouldn't take him, but for now? He was going to stay here, keep learning, keep honing his craft, keep living with the people he saw as his true family.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Roman found himself lingering in the shower, enjoying the feeling of the cool water flowing over him, picturing it washing away Machete's sweat. Machete was all right off stage and played a fantastic jobber in the ring, but Roman was convinced he'd sweat under Christmas lights.

As he held his face up to the water, letting it flow down, into his hair, washing out the shampoo, he admitted to himself that this whole, "Roman Reigns, snotty, good looking, bosses son hadn't been very enjoyable while Mox was gone. He liked doing it when Mox was there, because it was fun then, the two of them playing angry kids with each other. Playing an angry child wasn't very amusing when you were alone.

_Be honest,_ a voice in his head told him,_ you were only able to keep it up because you _were_ angry. Angry at Mox's birth mother for being out there and looking for him. Angry that your folks told him to go to Ohio. Angry that Mox wasn't getting a choice. You got that he should spend time with his mother, you even explained it to Lance and you were all fine with that. But let's be honest with yourself now, you were pissed off that everyone seemed to want what was _best_ for Mox, without taking the time to really _ask_ Mox what was best for him. Now he's back and he's doing better, but he got damaged out in Ohio. He went backwards instead of forwards. Both of us need to get over this, what's done is done! He seems great since we got home._

They had stopped at a motel after picking him up at his birth mother's house, just to get some sleep. All three of them had slept, Mox maybe the hardest, even though he'd gotten sleep the night before. They had to wake him up so they could check out. When his dad had called out, "Hey, Mox, wake up, sleepy head!" Mox had bolted upright in bed as if he were attached to a pulley and someone just jerked the rope. He had looked around the room, and Roman saw what he thought his father hadn't.

Mox was looking around as if he had fallen into the past and was terrified. Roman remembered Mox telling him that he'd spent time in motels before, and he was sure that Mox's sleep addled brain was adding things up incorrectly. Then his gaze fell on Sefa and Mox's breath came out in one whooshing, relieved, puff and he grinned, nodded and got out of bed.

Roman couldn't explain it to his father, but part of him knew that he wouldn't have thought he was waking in the past if he hadn't been up in Ohio for the summer. It was a gut feeling, no proof behind it, but Roman didn't need proof, Roman _knew_ it was truth.

They had breakfast at an all night diner and then driven straight home, only stopping for brief combination bathroom fuel stops, where they also picked up junk food they could eat in the car. Since Roman and his father were the drivers, they sat in the front and Mox in the back. Roman noticed that Mox hardly spoke the whole way home. He asked how everyone in the family and who worked at the SPWA was doing and seemed genuinely pleased they were all doing well, but other than that, hardly said anything and never said anything on his own, only answered questions he was asked. He slept a lot on that trip, too, but Roman had the feeling he wasn't really sleeping, just pretending to, in order to avoid conversation.

When they got home, after being greeted by the family, Lance doing a running leap into his arms as if Mox were some type of lifeline he'd been living without, and their mother hugged him, so tightly that you might have thought she was trying to absorb him so he would never have to leave their family again. Mox just looked in a happy dazed as if he couldn't believe he was home, and yet under the happiness, there was a bit of wariness as if he were waiting to wake up and find he was still in Ohio and this had all been a dream.

By the end of Mox's welcome home dinner, he was acting a lot more normal, but Roman still noticed that he was quieter than normal, until the next day when he went to work back at the camp and the two of them started discussing the storyline. As Roman told about what he was doing, and Mox started offering his ideas, it seemed to Roman that Mox had gone dormant and was now waking up. He was becoming Mox again, and while Roman was grateful, he wondered how much further Mox would have progressed if he'd never gone to Ohio at all.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Lance couldn't see a darned thing where he was, but he could hear what was going on, clear as a bell. He heard the music start, the Salt 'n Pepper version of _Whatta Man_ and knew Roman was heading down the ramp, in his usual way, wearing a black suit with a pristine white shirt, being escorted by two women wrestlers who were members of the SPWA and still took lessons. They were bookends in body, but opposites in general appearance., one blond, the other dark haired, one with a peaches and cream complexion, the other with skin the color of high quality milk chocolate. Both girls wore the briefest of bikinis, and each clung to Roman's arm and even though they also wore stiletto heels, they never took their gazes away from Roman, as if he was the only supply of the very air they needed to breathe.

Lance had seen this opening so often, that his brain could fill in for his eyes. Roman came down and stood in front of the ring, while the two girls eagerly jumped up and held the ropes open so he could enter.

When he was in the ring, and likely starting his dress down for the match, which consisted of the girls helping him out of his suit, revealing the wrestling trunks, and carefully folding his suit as if just touching his clothing was a form of ecstasy they wanted to last forever.

_Like the perfect orgasm, _Lance found himself thinking with the automatic eye roll. Not that Lance had ever seen a real live woman experience an orgasm, but he and a friend of his from school had cruised a couple of those free porn sites, the ones that blurred the sexual body bits and if you wanted to unblur them, you had to buy a membership. If you went by how the women on the site looked when they were orgasming, Roman's valets acted about the same. But Lance had his suspicions that all of that was fake, and that it was likely real orgasm expressions were less sexy with a lot of 'mmm' noises and lip licking and more eyes bugging out and mouth hanging open.

The whole routine of getting out of the suit had been practiced by Roman and the girls so many times that they could do it quickly, while still giving the impression that they were doing it slowly, so Lance knew that they were just finishing up when AC/DC _Back in Black_ began to play. Lance hadn't seen Mox's entrance in awhile, he remembered before Ohio that if he was just in a match with anyone, he strutted down like he owned the world. When he was dealing with Roman, he usually hurried. But since he had the belt now, Lance pictured him coming down a little faster than normal, but with a swagger too, as if he had everything going for him, and he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the belt would be his at the end of the match, too.

Lance listened as Noella played ring announcer, something she'd started doing since she and Marc had become serious. It turned out that Noella had a good voice for it, one that could sound forceful and exciting with a faint undertones of sultry. The SPWA had trained many a ring announcer, but even Lance's dad had to admit, Noella seemed born to the job.

She introduced Roman first, which brought about a huge round of booing and Lance knew Roman was either ignoring it, or giving a roll of his eyes as if he just didn't care about the audience. They were nothing to him. Even most of the girls around his age had stopped cheering and started booing too, and since some of them were his classmates, Lance knew Roman was a little afraid that when his senior year started, he might take a lot of grief over it, but it didn't stop him, and Lance was pretty sure it was because of Mox. He heard feet thumping and his brain filled in the blanks. The referee had taken the belt from Mox, who probably gave it over reluctantly, and then it was handed to someone to give to the timekeeper for safe keeping. Lance had been timekeeper before, it was probably the easiest job in wrestling, as long as the promotion you worked for didn't want to use the timekeeper as victim in a free-for-all match. Lance often wished they would, but he knew his mother would never allow it.

Lance heard the squeaking sound of feet in the ring, and the faint noises of Mox and Roman talking shit to each other, not loud enough to hear, but said in an exaggerated way, so people in the audience could take a good guess with lipreading. Then, the bell was rung and the thumping and thudding became more intense.

This was when Lance wished he could see what was going on, wished he could watch the match. Yes, he'd seen his brothers fight enough that he had a pretty good idea of what they were doing, but it wasn't the same as actually watching it. He knew the match started with Roman on the offensive, appearing to be beating the hell out of Mox, the audience cheering with every blow Roman landed. Then, Lance knew things had flipped and Mox had the advantage and was beating the hell out of Roman. Back and forth it went, then Roman got the advantage and Lance could hear Mox rolling out of the ring a lot as he tried to regroup, or maybe get counted out, thinking it would be a good way to keep the belt, even if he lost the match. A few times the ring went silent and Lance knew Roman was getting out of the ring and tossing Mox back in before he could be counted out.

Then,_ I Want It All_ began to play, and Lance knew everyone stopped, even Roman and Mox, looking up as Marc came out. Lance felt his body tense as he heard Marc talking. "I hate to interrupt, but Mox, this constant rolling out of the ring? That's _not_ how a champion should act. So, I've decided that this match only has a new rule; you leave the ring? You lose. Even if you're thrown out, you lose and Roman becomes champion."

There was silence from the audience, and Lance knew Roman smiled, while Mox looked furious, then the audience began to boo, because anything that made Roman smile had to be bad. Lance shifted position and moved, knowing his part was coming soon.

Because he'd seen the practices, Lance knew that Mox took advantage of Roman's smug insolence and jumped on him, He heard the announcers talking about how Mox was really showing the upper hand here, and how Roman was starting to look like he was wearing out. Then, the crowd began to cheer wildly,

"MOXICITY!" the main announcer screamed.

"The _true_ hero will retain the championship!" came from the face announcer.

Then the booing started and Lance knew Roman had turned the Moxicity back onto Mox, and now Mox was lying on the mat. The audience was a furious, shrieking mob, and Lance knew Roman was shrugging, while Mox lay helplessly on the mat. Then the booing became even wilder, and Lance knew that Roman had mimed rubbing his eyes, mocking the audience, telling them they were behaving like crying toddlers. Then he walked over to the edge of the ring.

Lance felt like he'd been a coiled spring all this time and he knew he couldn't hold himself back much longer. But when the footsteps stopped, he forced himself to countdown backwards from five and when he hit one, he jumped out from under the ring. Roman smiled and Lance held out what he'd been clinging to while he was under the ring.

A folding chair.

Lance remembered when their Mom had found out about the chair, she'd been _furious_, even though Mox was downright excited about the idea. She had tried to talk Sefa out of it, tried to talk to Roman, to anyone who might get the idea stopped, but nobody was going to budge. This was wrestling and since Mox wanted to be a wrestler, he'd have to get used to it.

The compromise was that the chair was a stunt chair, lighter in weight, made of a thinner metal. The average adult woman could sit on it, but if you were over 150lbs or so, you'd probably want to reconsider. That wasn't enough to make Jen happy though, so the chair had been taken apart and put back together with weak nuts and bolts, also made for stunts.

While Mox had been frustrated at the safety precautions, Lance realized he should have been thrilled. Because Roman came over with the chair, raised it above his head and whammed it down on Mox's back. It bent, so Roman flipped it over and did it again. The third time he brought the chair down, the chair fell into pieces, the seat and the front legs falling to the ground so all Roman was holding were the back legs, separated by the chair back. Lance knew Roman was probably surprised by this, but he didn't let it stop him, he kept beating on Mox, who laid on the ground looking helpless, and the audience screamed, their voices sounding on the verge of rioting they were so angry.

Roman tossed aside the dented chair back yawned at the audience, literally _yawned_, something Lance wasn't sure had ever been done in wrestling before. Even if one person thought a fight was beneath them, they didn't yawn and act bored, that was almost anti-wrestling. But Roman didn't care. He nudged Mox with his foot, trying to get it under Mox. Mox obliged by raising himself a bit so Roman's foot could get further under him and Lance found himself breathing a sigh of relief, because it meant Mox was okay.

Then, Roman raised and moved his foot and again with cooperation from Mox, flipped him onto his back. The referee, who had been yelling at Roman while he was beating on Mox, had retreated safely to the corner. Roman looked in his direction and almost fearfully, he came over as Roman fell across Mox and lifted his leg.

"_One!_" the Referee shouted, slamming the floor, "_Two!_" another slam, then a hesitation where the audience held their breath along with Lance, wondering if the miracle would happen, that Mox would raise his shoulder and push Roman off him. But there would be no miracle tonight, the referee could only pause so long, before he slammed his hand down, almost reluctantly shouted, "_Three!_"

The audience roared their disapproval, but Roman did not look at all phased. He rose to his feet and the two valets leaped in the ring to wrap themselves around his arms and cling to him. Lance took that time to run over to the timekeeper area. Roman shrugged the women off, sending peaches and cream girl falling on her rear and stormed over to the corner. Lance grabbed the belt from the timekeeper and brought it over, holding it up so Roman could snatch it from his hands, and go to the center of the ring, holding it high above his head. The girl who had fallen, was already on her feet again, and both girls were wrapping their arms around him, excitedly hugging him as if his winning was causing them to go into another fit of orgasmic bliss, this one even better than the one they got by helping Roman take off the business suit.

And Roman just stood there, belt held above his head, listening to the crowd screaming, roaring, crying their fury at him. All he did was sneer, because he had the only thing that mattered.

He was champion once again.

* * *

**Author's notes: **_To those of you who have been there at the start of this? Welcome back! To those who are just joining? This is the third stories in a series. You shouldn't have to read the first two to understand what is going on, but, it would give you a better background. _

_Thank you to any of you who read this. A story is no fun unless folks read it. _

_Thank you even more if you like it enough to favor or follow it. Yeah, it's an ego stroke._

_Thank you to the max if you take the time to review. Even if it's just to say, "Good story," I still appreciate it. If you want to be critical, that's fine too, just please explain why, because it's hard for me to figure out what (or if) I'm doing wrong if you write, "Story sucks!"_

_If you want to be critical and not worry that others will pile on you, feel free to send me a message and we can talk about it. And no, I will not call you out in public, that's not fair. If you send it by message, that means you expect me to respect your privacy. I will listen to criticism, as long as it's not flaming (What is flaming? Going off on a story or writer to the point where it's obvious you're not trying to be helpful, you're just trying to make that person feel bad.) You flame me and all bets are off. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Aw, who am I kidding? I don't write disclaimers, I write a few sentences or tell a joke so the title centers better. Anyway, a photon is going through security at the airport and a TSA agent asks if he has any luggage.

"No," says the photon, "I'm traveling light."

No? Okay, Lance might have appreciated it... *Walks away sadly*

* * *

.

**Chapter Two**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth Rollins never expected to be riding in a yellow school bus in August, and he _really_ never expected to be excited to be doing it. Then again, he wasn't going to a regular school. Seth Rollins, age 15, was on a bus full of kids, all between the ages of 13-17, headed to the Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy, aka SPWA, for intense training on how to be a professional wrestler.

He'd flown out of O'Hare airport, his first time traveling alone, and as he boarded the plane, he saw eleven other teenagers, also traveling without adults. A part of him wondered if they too, were going to the camp. It would make sense, SPWA took students from anywhere and everywhere, and O'Hare was a major hub. There was a good chance at least _some_ of them were going to the camp as well.

His suspicions were confirmed, at least in part, when two girls sat down next to him. He had made his reservations early enough to get a window seat. The girls looked somewhere in their teens, one looked about his age, the other a year or so younger than him. They were both wearing jeans and sneakers, much as he was. The older one was wearing a plain red T-shirt, but the younger one was wearing a Stone Cold T-shirt. It seemed too coincidental, they were on the same flight, near the same age, and one wearing a wrestling shirt. Seth was a little shy around girls, and he wasn't used to girls who wore wrestling T-shirts. There were a few girls he knew of that liked wrestling, but the Stone Cold shirt had once been black and now was a color that danced between black and grey, the graphics on it cracked, saying this shirt had been worn a lot and washed a lot. So he'd taken a chance and when the plane was airborne, looked at the younger girl who was sitting in the middle and said, "Are you going to SPWA?"

The girl, who'd been looking bored, suddenly perked up. "Yeah! Are you?"

Seth nodded.

The older girl turned her head and leaned forward a bit so she could look at Seth. "We're both going. Our grandfather gave us this as a gift for Christmas. Two weeks of wrestling training."

"I'm going to be there for a month," Seth said, unable to keep from sounding a little boastful.

"Shit, who d'you blow to get that?" the girl in the middle said, giving him an admiring look.

"_Raven!"_ the older girl said, giving her sister a hard look, then looking at Seth, her cheeks turning pink. "Uh, my sister is a little blunt."

_Yeah? And the Titanic just had a little mishap_ Seth thought, but he really didn't mind. This "Raven" had the look of a girl who'd have a potty mouth, much as her sister looked as if she rarely, if ever, swore.

"What?" the one called Raven said, shrugging, "_Everyone_ knows the teenage camp session is two weeks. Just _two_ weeks. So, how's he getting _four?_" She looked at him, "How did you get _four?_"

"I was offered a scholarship for two extra weeks," Seth said, again, his tone rather boastful.

"Wow," the older girl looked impressed. "I've never heard of them offering a _scholarship_. You must be _really_ good!"

Seth shrugged, and now did try to look a bit modest. He didn't want to tell the whole story of how he came to be attending the SPWA, but he settled for a partial truth, "I got to meet Nathan Reigns's kids," he said. The older girl's eyes widened and Raven let out a whistle.

"Did you get to meet Nathan Reigns, himself?" Raven asked. "And by the way, what's your name? I'm Raven and this is May," she jerked a thumb in the direction of the older girl.

"Seth," Seth said, "And yes, I _did _meet Nathan. I have relatives who live close to the place and we were visiting them at Christmas, so I went to check it out, and that's how I met Nathan's kids. They showed me a few things. I mean, I already knew a bunch of stuff, because I've been backyard wrestling for years, but that doesn't mean I know _everything_. Anyways, so that's how I got to come down here."

"_Cool,"_ Raven said, looking at him as if he might have hung the moon. "I'm just thrilled I'm going to get to _meet_ Nathan Reigns, never mind, train with him. That is, if we get to train with him. He might be too important to train us himself, he might have others do it, but wow, just seeing him walking around would be cool."

The rest of the flight passed quickly the three of them talking. Mostly Raven and May asking him questions about the school. He told them what he remembered from the midnight tour of the place Mox had given him.

"Mox!" Raven said, looking delighted when Seth mentioned his name. "I've seen him on the SPWA website. Saw some of the promos he's cut and even a couple of the matches he had with the Roman guy. He is _awesome_. Mox, I mean, not Roman. I mean, she thinks Roman is cute and all, but Mox, that guy is a _natural_ with a mic." She jerked her thumb again, indicating it was May who found Roman attractive. May responded by blushing and growing quiet for a little while, but eventually couldn't resist joining in on the conversation.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When they arrived at the airport and went to the baggage claim area, there was a guy holding up a sign that said SPWA. There were already a few other kids there, and almost all the teenagers traveling alone on the same flight Seth and the two girls took, walked over to the guy holding the sign. He asked all of them their names and checked them off on a clipboard. He seemed satisfied that everyone on his list had shown up, and once luggage was collected, they all walked out and stood on the sidewalk. After a minute or two, the school bus pulled in and the kids all climbed in, the man with the clipboard hurrying them inside as fast as possible.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox was almost shaking in excitement as the bus pulled into the parking lot of SPWA. He'd been on the mud porch, washing the windows, under the pretense of working, while being able to watch out for the bus. He started peeling off the t-shirt he had been wearing, as he opened the door. "Roman! Lance! They're here!"

He threw the t-shirt onto the bench that ran almost the entire length of the room and grabbed another shirt that had been folded on the bench, clean, neat, and brand new. It was black with white lettering. The front had the SPWA logo on the front of it, and "Mox" in smaller lettering above and to the left of the logo. On the back, in block letters was the word, "STAFF." It wasn't the first SPWA staff shirt Mox had worn, he had a lot of them, but most of them were blue, indicating he was a general labor. Black meant you were an _instructor, _or at least an assistant instructor.

Roman and Lance came out to the mudroom, similarly dressed as the bus was circling around, pulling to a stop so the kids could get out. There were a few other kids already out there, who had come by other means, a couple even driving their own cars down. Others had come by bus or lived close enough that a family member had driven them. This smaller group was standing with another instructor, Paul Jackson. Jackson had an independent wrestler, who had started teaching with the school after a shoulder injury took him away from wrestling. Once he was healed, the lure of a steady paycheck and health insurance too tempting to pass by and he'd become not only an instructor, but the go-to guy for commentary in the shows.

The three of them raced from the mud porch and went to stand by Jackson as the door of the bus opened. Mox looked and saw his dad heading up the rise that lead to the driveway, taking his time. Mox couldn't help but smile, recognizing what Nathan was doing. _Teaching through intimidation. _He turned his attention back to the bus, as the kids came filing out. Mox, Roman, and Lance stood there, saying nothing, as Jackson motioned the kids coming off the bus to put their luggage (in most cases, a duffle bag and a backpack) in one area, and to then go stand with the other kids.

Mox saw Seth getting off the bus and had to fight the urge to run over and say hi, especially when Seth saw them and broke into a grin. Roman though, who had been through this many times, gave a curt nod and Mox and Lance followed suit. For a moment, Seth looked bewildered, then it was like a light dawned, and he stopped smiling and returned the nod.

When the baggage was in one area, and the kids lined up neatly in a two deep semi circle, Sefa had made it to the area, holding a clipboard and a metal box. He handed the box to Jackson, but kept the clipboard and walked over to the group. "Hello, Maggots."

The kids stared at him, a few looking shocked. One older boy, daring to say, "Hey, that's n-"

Sefa shot him a withering look. "You're _maggots_. If you don't like that, you can go home. But you're not worthy of being called 'amateurs,' or 'rookies.' You're kids, you're nobody, and thus, you are _maggots_. You're here to see if you might, just _might_ have what it takes to be a professional wrestler. And, I will tell you right now, that if _two_ of you in this whole class make it to the WWF, then you'll be the most successful teen sessions I have ever had here. Do you want to know why the success rates are so low?" He didn't wait for an answer but continued. "It's not our training, our training is the best. It's because _you_ don't have it in you. You think you want to be wrestlers, but you don't. You want to be famous and you figure this is a quick way to get there. In this two weeks we'll either make you or break you and I expect over half of you will be gone by the end of the first week. I don't care. All of you paid, in advance for two weeks, or your mommies and daddies did. I don't give refunds, so if you want to leave, it's no dent to my wallet, it just means we've got more time to spend with the ones who are taking this seriously."

Mox studied the group to see their reactions. Some of the kids looked frightened or shocked as if they had no clue they would be treated like this. Some had their eyes narrowed, as if they wanted to challenge the words being spoken to them, but would not. Mox was pleased to see Seth was looking at Sefa with an expression that spoke only of determination. Standing in front of him were two girls, both short with dark hair, one in thousands of tiny braids then held back in a ponytail that went almost down to her waist. The other had her hair just pulled back into one long braid that hung to mid back. They were both looking at Sefa, expressions serious, but the one with the single braid, had her eyes narrowed as if she wasn't just serious, as if she was trying to memorize every word that Sefa was saying. _Seth will rise to the top of the class,_ Mox thought, confidentially, _but those two girls might be right next to him. We'll see._

"Now," Sefa continued, "All of you should have gotten a copy of the rules with your acceptance letter. If you did not, one will be provided and you had better read it over. But, just to make sure you understand that not all rules are equal, I am going to tell you the big three. _One, no males in the female dorm, no females in the male dorm_. You will work together learning and wrestle together, but other than that? I don't want to hear about_ any _activity outside of the ring, any more intimate than_ verbal_ intercourse. You are _not_ here to flirt, you are here to learn _wrestling_. _Two, no drugs no alcohol, no smoking of any kind._ Any of you who are on prescription medications, you or your parents should have sent a list of what you are taking and why. _Three, you will, at all times, treat your instructors with respect._ This means that you can refer to me as _Mr._ Reigns, or _Sir_. None of you are old enough, nor have earned the respect to call me Nathan. Over here are my three younger sons." He motioned to Mox, Lance, and Roman. "Due to their being close in age to you, and not being professional yet, you will call them Mox, Lance, and Roman," he pointed to each one as he said their names. "If you forget their names, you will call them _Sir_ until you _do_ remember. The gentleman over there? You will call him Mr. Jack or Sir. His ring name was Calico Jack, but you haven't earned the right to call him Calico. There is one other instructor who is not here yet, and that is my oldest son. His ring name was Marc Reigns. You will call him _Mr_. Reigns, or _Sir_. Violation of any of these big three rules leads to immediate expulsion from the academy. And again, no refunds. Now," he paused to look at his clipboard. "I will be calling your name. When I do, you will go over to Mr. Jack. He will give you a locker key, which has a number on it. That number is not only for your locker, it will tell you what bunk you will use. You will then go over and take your stuff from the pile, and wait quietly until everyone has a locker and bunk assigned to them. Do I make myself clear?" Without waiting for a reply, he looked at the clipboard. "Anderson, Thomas."

A boy of about fifteen stepped forward and walked over to Mr. Jack, who gave him a key.

Despite the first camper having the last name Anderson, the list didn't seem to be in alphabetical order, because next came a Williams, Jeffery, Cole, Adam, then Sefa said, "Parker, Gwendolyn."

One of the dark haired girls, the younger one that wore her hair in one long braid stepped forward. "I go by the name Raven," she said.

Sefa looked at her with a gaze that would have withered most others. "Is that a fact? Are you hoping that will be your ring name, someday? Because there already _is_ a Raven in wrestling."

"Yes, Mr. Reigns, the girl said. "But I'm going to be Raven Poe."

"Well, _Gwendolyn," _Sefa said, "You haven't earned the right to be called by _any_ ring name. Go get your locker."

"But-" the girl started, then must have seen something in Sefa's face, because she went instantly silent and walked over to Mr. Jack to get her locker key.

The exchange between Gwendolyn/Raven and Sefa served as a warning for everyone else. If they had a nickname they preferred to go by, or anything else to say, they decided this was not the time to say it, and silently accepted the key.

This, however did not stop Sefa from making the occasional comment. Right after Gwendolyn was called, he called out "Parker, May." When the other dark haired girl, the one with the many, tiny braids stepped forward, he looked at her, "You're the gymnast," he said. "You were accepted on the US gymnastics team. Why the _hell_ are you coming to a wrestling camp?"

May squared her shoulders, and looked up. "I only started doing gymnastics because I thought it would be helpful when I was old enough to start professional wrestling. There are no schools where I live that offer to train teenagers for wrestling."

"Do you think those gymnastics will give you an advantage?" Sefa asked.

"That remains to be seen," May said. "I'm hoping so."

The answer seemed to please Sefa, or at least not irritated him, because he motioned her to go over to get her locker key.

A few folks were called after that, and Sefa stayed silent, merely motioning them to go to get their key. Then he called out "Rollins, Seth."

Seth stepped forward. "Ah yes, it's you," Sefa said. "Everyone, do you know how Seth Rollins got to come to this camp?"

Mox saw Seth's eyes widen, looking nervous. Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to Sefa and Seth.

"Seems that Mr. Rollins here, has family across the way, " Sefa began. "If you cut through the property across the street, you'd be almost on his Aunt's doorstep. He and his family came down for Christmas, and unable to stand sleeping in the Florida heat, he thought he'd take a little stroll, cutting across the farm, and check this place out."

Seth bit his lower lip and shot a desperate look to Mox. Mox looked back at him, hoping his expression showed Seth he was equally as startled.

"He came over here, and my boy Mox was running the ropes." Sefa continued. "Mox likes to run ropes when he can't sleep, so if any of you think you can sneak out of the dorms late at night and have some fun? You can forget that. We've got people who will find your sorry asses and you will be expelled. So, Seth came over here and Mox started teaching him some basics of wrestling. See, Seth has a little rinky-dink backyard wrestling sort-of thing, and he thought that made him a big, tough, wrestler. He didn't even know how to run the ropes correctly. So, Mox began to school him and my other boys here, Lance and Roman, overheard and came down. And while being up that late is not the smartest thing, all was well, until Seth realized he had to head home, and decided again, he'd cut through the farm across the way. The Lavery farm."

Everyone was looking between Sefa and Seth, paying attention to every word being said, as Sefa continued to tell the tale of how the Lavery farm was the only farm in Florida that was allowed to house reindeer, and how one of those reindeer, Daisy, had run off from the holding area, and when seeing Seth, ran over, knocked him over, and trampled him.

Mox thought Seth might pass out from embarrassment, his face was so red, but he stood there, trying to keep his expression blank.

"This was December 24th," Sefa continued. "So, in a nutshell, Rollins got run over by a reindeer, heading home from our house Christmas eve. Anyone here still believe in Santa?"

Nobody confirmed or denied their belief in Santa, but a few poorly suppressed giggles were heard. May though, was looking at Seth with an expression of sympathy. Raven's expression was blank. Everyone else though, seemed amused at the story.

"But, maybe there _is_ a Santa," Sefa continued, "Because Seth was only banged up, not permanently damaged. And the people who own Daisy were _so_ grateful she had been found, that they agreed to pay for him to come down here for two weeks. So, yeah, he got trampled by a reindeer, but he got two weeks here because of it. Not only that, but my boys told me how well he did when they were messing around that night, so well that I later called and offered him two additional weeks for free. So, still feel like laughing?"

The kids all went silent and the red began leaving Seth's face, his normal color returning.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The campers were given fifteen minutes to find their bunks and lockers and to stash their gear in their locker. Seth had an advantage of having a tour in December, where Mox had showed him how the locker numbers coordinated with the bunk locations, and also showed him the inside of a locker. Seth had planned carefully and was the first to stash his gear and locate his bunk for further reference. He was the first one outside, where Roman, Lance, and Mox were standing.

"_Seth!"_ Mox exclaimed.

"Hey guys," Seth said. Looking around, he couldn't see Mr. Reigns, so he walked over to the three brothers. "Uh, I don't know if I should say this, but I met your dad before and he seemed cool. Why is he being such a dick, now?"

A snort of laughter came from Mox. "Dude, you were a _visitor_ then," he said. "You're a _student_ now. All bets are off."

"Taking on teenagers is a risk," Roman said, not laughing. "Yeah, your folks signed all sorts of agreements not to sue, that they understand that wrestling has a good potential for injury, so on and so forth. But most error from teens comes from stupidity. Not following orders. So, Dad always plays hardball."

"He plays hardball with the students who are adults too," Lance said. "And yeah, until you've proven to him you have what it takes, you're _all _maggots. So, don't feel bad."

"If you show him you are eager to learn, willing to follow all instructions to the letter, and never do anything even slightly risky without the proper supervision, you'll see how fast he can mellow out," Roman continued. "No, he's never going to be warm and fuzzy, that's not his way, but he'll stop looking for excuses to pick on you. Spread the word around to your fellow campers. Try to make them understand that you're a team, like it or not and that the better you all behave as a group, the better off it will be for all of you."

Seth nodded. He didn't consider himself to be a natural leader, but he would pass the word and hopefully, the group would take notice.

"Good, we have plans for this," Mox blurted out, as if he'd been wanting to say this all day. "Roman and I have been setting it up. We're going to be doing Friday and Saturday night shows, for the month of August. I dropped the SPWA belt to Roman last Saturday."

"Uh, sorry Mox, congratulations, Roman?" Seth said, being as diplomatic as possible.

"Don't worry, it's going to be great," Mox said.

"Remember I suggested that the three of you could form a faction?" Lance asked. "Well, seems like that idea has gone over _really_ well with Dad."

"Oh?" Seth was instantly eager to hear more about it, but of course, that was when other campers began to join them, and nothing more was said.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The rest of the day was spent being tested for their physical endurance. Yes, all of the campers had to have a physical from a doctor, within thirty days of being accepted to the camp, but a physical didn't really give a measurement of how athletic these kids were and that had to be discovered.

They were tested on cardio and strength and most of the kids were able to pass the minimum easily. Six were not so they were separated from the rest of the group.. Sefa had joined them by then, and he informed the ones who failed the testing that they would be taking time to build their strength and cardio with Marc.

"How are we going to learn to wrestle if we're just working out?" one boy complained.

"You might not," Sefa said, shrugging. "You might spend the whole two weeks just building up your strength and endurance. Maybe you can be ring announcers, commentary, or referees, but you aren't going to wrestle until you can prove to me that you're able to keep yourself and your partner safe."

"But I came here to learn to _wrestle!_" the same kid protested. Seth found himself wincing, anticipating Sefa's reply.

He didn't have long to wait. Sefa stared at the kid as if he were a particularly irritating mosquito that was buzzing around his face. "How old are you, kid?"

"Sixteen," the kid said.

"And what was your name, again?" Sefa asked. "I have a tendency to forget the names of maggots who argue with me."

"Bryan," the kid said, trying to stand up straighter, as if he would never back down.

"Well, _Byron,_" Sefa said, and Seth knew he was deliberately mispronouncing his name. "According to our tests, you aren't in good enough shape to be trusted to wrestle. Maybe you should have been doing a little more working _out_ instead of jerking _off." _

This made several of the kids, mostly the boys, snort as they attempted to suppress their laughter. Sefa completely ignored them, just continued to stare at Bryan. "When you signed up for this camp, you agreed that if you were found to be unfit for wrestling, you would be trained until you were ready, or for two weeks, whatever came first. So, from where I see it, you have two choices; do what we say, or call your Mommy and Daddy and tell them how unfair it is that you aren't allowed to break the rules and have them get your sorry ass back home. Which will you choose, A or B?"

All the tough seemed to drain out of Bryan, not that there was much to begin with, Bryan did look as soft as the tests showed he was. He was skinny, with almost no muscle, probably one of those kids who thought that all you needed to be "fit" was to be thin. "A, Sir," he said, looking down at his feet.

"Damn, I was hoping you'd pick B," Sefa said. "So I could weed your crybaby ass out of here before we wasted anymore time. But, you were smart enough to pick A, let's hope you're smart enough to do what Marc says." He pointed to Marc and then looked up. "He'll be in charge of all you maggots who thought you could be out of shape and still wrestle. Consider yourselves to be part of the _remedial_ group."

Seth could almost feel sorry for the kids who didn't make it, except that the endurance and strength tests were amazingly easy to pass. And he really couldn't feel sorry for Bryan, that kid seemed to find it difficult to keep his mouth shut, and Seth hoped that being in the remedial group would keep him from ruining everything for everyone else.

By the time they were done, it was dinner time. Seth hoped that at least Mox and Roman might join them, but they ate in the house with the family. They were told that when dinner was over, they would have some free time, if they wanted it, but they could not leave the grounds. Sefa strongly advised they take a shower and go to bed. "This is likely to be one of the easiest days you'll have while you're here," he told them. "Any chance to get sleep? You take it. Because you will be up very early for your workout and you won't be fed until it's done."

Seth thought he'd find it hard to get to sleep before eight o'clock at night, but he decided to at least give it a try. He had brought some books with him, so if he couldn't get to sleep, he figured he'd just read.

He got under the covers, grateful the sleeping area was air conditioned, even if it was still a little warmer than he would like. He lay on his back, going over the day, and without thinking about it, drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

So, yes, Seth.. and May and Raven too. Yeah, they're mine and have been used before, but I thought I could tuck them in this story too, and it wouldn't matter if folks had read my other stuff or not.

Thank you to everyone that reads this, that favors and/or follows it, or who leaves a comment. It is so greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

I've been staring at the top of this page for about an hour, trying to find something to say, just so this will center right on the page. I have nothing. So, I guess I'm just going to write... nothing.

* * *

.

**Chapter Three**

_{o}-{o}-{o}_

.

Morning at the camp began with a thirty minute run, then another thirty minute of weight and strength training before breakfast was even served. Mox was not surprised when Seth was one of the four who ran the furthest and thus the fastest on the first morning run. It didn't surprise him that the girl with a thousand braids, May Parker, was _the_ fastest, she just had that look that said she loved to run and later she did end up confessing she ran almost every morning, weather permitting. Seth was the second fastest.

The third and fourth were May's sister, Gwen/Raven, and this other kid, Mustafa Ali. Mustafa wasn't a shock, again because he had the look of a runner, but Gwen/Raven had a solid, muscular build, and while Mox knew she likely could run, he didn't expect her to be so fast. Mustafa was third, Raven was fourth.

Strength and weight training proved that the four fastest were the four fittest. On that, Seth moved to the front. He was good on weights and good on strength and resistance. Mustafa came in a solid second, and Raven/Gwen and May both tied for third. Raven/Gwen was a little better with the weights, but May was a little better with resistance.

After the workouts, Mox asked his father what he thought of the four, if he thought, as Mox did, that they were the finest the camp had to offer. When Sefa agreed, Mox said, "Are the girls and Mustafa _the_ ones?"

"I'd say it's likely, but we won't know for sure until later today," was Sefa's response.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When breakfast was finished, they were all lead to one of the outdoor rings. Seth saw it was the one that he had used with Mox, Roman, and Lance when he'd been out here in December and he smiled, feeling almost like he might if he were taken to a house he'd lived in earlier in his childhood, even if he'd only spent a few hours here, less than a year ago. It was the first professional ring he'd ever been in. The homemade ring he had back home was a good one, done properly with tires and old mattresses to give it flexibility, but it was still a _homemade_ ring. This ring was exactly the type of ring the WWF and all the_ real_ promotions used.

"I'm sure this is the moment you've all been waiting for," Sefa said, "This is when you all get a chance to show me what you can do. What makes you think you deserve to be a professional wrestler. Do not try _anything_ you have not done several times before. If you need a partner to do your move with, you will use one of my boys," he motioned to Mox, Lance and Roman. "Now, before you get this brilliant idea that you can do something risky? If you hurt my boys, I will bring the wrath of whatever God you believe in down upon you." Then, without another word about punishment, he called out the first name, which happened to be May Parker.

"I can do this by myself," May said, as she got in the ring.

"Okay," Sefa said, "Let's see what you got, itty-bitty gymnastics girl."

May climbed to the top rope as if she'd been doing this all her life, no doubt her gymnastics background helping. Pausing and drawing in a deep breath, she leaped into the air and did a corkscrew shooting star press. Seth was nearly in shock and apparently, so was the rest of the class, because almost everyone was staring at her. Then, Mustafa clapped and many others joined in.

May rose to her feet, her face bright red at the clapping. She looked over at Sefa, who nodded. "Maybe all those gymnastics did serve a purpose," he said gruffly. "But could you do that without hurting someone?"

"Yes," May said with confidence, "As long as they don't start moving after I leap. That happens and all bets are off.

Sefa nodded, then motioned to Roman. "Get in the ring, let's see if she can do it without hurting you."

Roman shrugged and got into the ring. He looked at May and then to his father. "How are we to do this?"

"Lay down in the middle of the ring, as if she'd just stunned you," Sefa said. "I want to see if she can arrange you and then do the move."

Roman shrugged and laid down in the center of the ring. May herself shrugged, then grabbed Roman and fairly easily, considering the size difference, dragged him towards the post, positioned him and climbed up on the third rope.

Seth had to give Roman credit, he didn't move, didn't flinch. He accepted her flip and twist and landing. To give May credit, she was more careful than she needed to be and didn't even touch him with her outspread arms and knees.

"He's not made of glass," Sefa commented. "But, good job. You're going to make it hard for anyone to follow that up."

May nodded and rolled out of the ring. "It's the gymnastics," she said, shrugging. Seth saw a couple people roll their eyes and shake their heads, thinking she was bragging, but Seth got it. She was saying that she'd been professionally trained to do things like that. To see that right now she was a good _gymnast_, but that did not mean she was a good _wrestler_.

Most of the kids were doing obvious backyard wrestling moves, some of them downright dangerous. And Sefa gleefully pointed out every potential danger. It didn't seem to stop anyone though, everyone kept trying to outdo each other for spectacular moves.

"I hope none of this is because of me," May whispered to Seth. The two of them, as well as Raven and Mustafa were standing together.

"If it is, it's not your fault," Seth whispered back. "You're a trained gymnast, most of these guys are copying what they've seen on TV wrestling and not even copying it well."

Raven had pulled Mustafa a distance away, and the two of them were talking so quietly, Seth couldn't hear a word they said. He looked over where Mox, Lance, and Roman were standing, watching with their father. Mox, sensing he was being watched, looked over at Seth with a half grin on his face, and rolled his eyes in the direction of the ring as if to say, "Can you believe these idiots?" Seth had been wondering what he should do when he was called, and Mox's eye roll gave him a flash of inspiration.

Seth wasn't the only one inspired, because when Sefa called out, "Gwen Parker," Raven got up, went into the ring and said, "This would look a lot better if Mustafa could help me."

"Is that a fact?" Sefa looked mildly amused. "Well, why don't you show me what you can do and then _I'll_ decide if he can join you."

Raven drew in a deep breath and began doing some type of martial arts moves that looked as if she was giving the air a tremendous beating. When she stopped, Sefa stared at her. "How long have you been studying martial arts?"

"I started at nine months old." Raven said, shrugging. "My grandfather is a master a few different types. He started teach us Grand-kids the moment we could walk." When Sefa raised his brow and gave her a skeptical look, she looked over at May. "My sister can confirm. No, he didn't teach us how to do kicks and stuff, but when we could walk, he started teaching us how to stand properly, then how to balance and center ourselves, and as we got older, he started teaching us various moves."

"Why aren't you thinking about going into the UFC?" Sefa asked. "Seems like you've got a gift for that."

"I don't _want_ to be a UFC fighter," Raven said with a shrug. "In fact, one of the ways my grandfather kept me doing martial arts was by telling me it would help with _wrestling. _That's how they got my sister to do gymnastics and martial arts, for wrestling. May's the one that wants to be a high flier. _ I_ want to be a grappler._"_

"How does your grandfather feel about you and your sister being wrestlers?" Sefa asked.

"He's _totally_ behind it," Raven said. "He's the one that taught us to love wrestling. He's the one who paid for us to come here."

Sefa nodded. "Okay, why did you want Mustafa to help you? You impressed me enough with what you did. What would another person do for your demonstration?"

"Show that I can take those moves and make them wrestling moves, in the sense that I won't take someone's head off their shoulders" She focused her gaze on Sefa. "I know I risk taking out your sons if I screw up. But Mustafa over there is willing to volunteer. And, he's another person whose taken martial arts most of his life, so we both know how to do this right. How to do offense and defense."

Sefa looked over at Mustafa, who nodded. He looked thoughtful for a bit, long enough that it seemed almost like an uncomfortable silence had overtaken the entire place then he nodded. "I'm going to trust that the two of you know what you're doing." He motioned to Mustafa. "Go ahead."

Mustafa joined Raven in the ring. "This might not be perfect," Raven warned him. "I mean, we won't hurt each other, but some of it might look obvious we're not trying to hurt each other."

"Okay," Sefa said. "Less tell, more _show_, please."

Seth watched as Raven started doing the same set of moves she did earlier, but slower, giving Mustafa a chance to avoid them fairly easily, but more than a few looked as if they actually connected. Her final move was a spinning kick, and Seth could see the connect to Mustafa and winced, but as Mustafa spun around and then fell to the floor in a classic sell, Seth realized she hadn't hurt him, or at least not badly enough to stun him, if she had, he sure wouldn't have been able to sell it like he had.

Lance gave out a low whistle and clapped, just as had been done for May and other joined in. Sefa though, just looked. "Is that it?"

"No," Raven said, "Now it's _his_ turn." She nodded towards Mustafa.

Mustafa, who was standing, became the aggressor, and started aiming blows at Raven, probably doing them slower than normal as well, so Raven would have time to react without actually being hit hard enough to cause damage. _I'll bet with some training, they could do that at full speed and look like they're kicking the crap out of each other,_ Seth thought. He thought back to his bragging on the plane to Raven and May and almost cringed. These girls were _good_, and he'd been bragging about his own "small promotion" and meeting the Reign kids. Meanwhile, the Parker sisters had been doing things totally not related to wrestling, yet turning them _into_ wrestling.

The only thing that would have been worse would have been if Mustafa had been there on the plane with them and Seth had bragged to him, too. Seth knew he probably had more wrestling experience than most of these kids here, but he wasn't sure he and his friends had ever put on anything as good as Mustafa and Raven did, and this was the first time they'd ever been in a ring together as far as he knew.

When Raven and Mustafa stepped out of the ring, Sefa looked at Raven long and hard. She looked back at him, unflinching. Then, Sefa gave a curt nod and looked up. "From now on," he announced so everyone could hear, "We call her Raven. She's earned it, and she sure doesn't act like any Gwendolyn I've ever known."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth was the last to be called. And while most kids tried to hard to impress and failed, more than just May, Gwen-now-Raven, and Mustafa managed to win nods and looks of encouragement. Seth had thought his idea was good, but now he wondered.

He made his way into the ring and stood there for a moment, doing nothing, just standing.

"Any time, Mr. Rollins," Sefa said.

There were moves Seth could have done, moves he done in his backyard wrestling matches. Moves that looked impressive and elaborate. He could do one of those. He could probably even get Mox or Roman to help him pull them off. All he'd need was a minute, probably less to explain to them what he needed. But it as was time to make the choice. Did he show what he _knew_, or just show _off? _

_Now or never._

He drew in a deep breath and then started doing wrestling moves. Not fancy ones, but the basic ones, the moves that could be called the foundations of wrestling. Mox, Roman, and Lance had show him those moves that night in December and he had forced himself to remember them, to fit them into his brain as if they were a movie he could run at any time. And he practiced them. When his friends were busy, too busy to wrestle as they used to, Seth went into his backyard, to his homemade ring and practiced for hours. When he watched wrestling on TV, he looked for those moves within other moves, pausing the VCR and doing his best to run it frame by frame to double check if he was still doing it the right way.

Before he did each move, he called it out "Back bump." When he finished, as Mox had taught him, he planted his right elbow, rolled to his right knee, planted his left foot on the ground and got up, making it look fluid and effortless. Such a minor thing, but it was the difference between looking like a jerky, backyard, wrestler and a smooth, professional, wrestler.

"Face plant," he said, falling forward, as if the ring were a pool and he was doing a belly flop, but he let his chest, legs, and arms take most of the impact, raising his head up, and turning it to the side. "Flip bump," he called out when he was on his feet again, taking a leap, flipping into the air and then landing as if it were a back bump.

He knew some of the kids in the crowd were _not_ impressed. May's corkscrew shooting star press, or Raven and Mustafa's martial arts moves had looked far more interesting, as were some of the moves the other kids had done. He wasn't doing fantastic leaps into the air, although he knew how to get good air, he was _born_ to get air, but before you could soar the skies, you had to prove you could take off and land safely. That's what he was showing Sefa, that he already knew how to get up and get down.

He ran the ropes a few times, showing he knew how to do it correctly, something else Mox had corrected for him, because he'd never learned to do them right until that December night he ran them with Mox. There was a way to do it, so it looked effortless and smoothly, as if you were a part of a machine. Every other way, you looked like an idiot smashing off of ropes. And, as Seth had discovered, being able to run the ropes correctly, lead to a lot of other moves. Clotheslines looked better when they started with a smooth bounce off the ropes. A rebound lariat looked graceful instead of sloppy. Running ropes wasn't something minor as Seth once believed, it was a serious part of wrestling.

He didn't look at May, Raven, or Mustafa, while he worked, but he did glance at Sefa, Roman, Lance, and Mox, who were all watching him their expressions neutral, but Sefa was giving slight nods for every move he did. He knew that some kids were scoffing, but he didn't care. He repeated as many of the moves as he could going on the top rope to show he could take the heights. On the flip bump though, he decided to get that air, leaped up, did a double flip, but instead of landing in a back bump, he did a ninja roll and then got to his feet and stopped, indicating he was finished.

Sefa stared at him for what seemed like an eternity and Seth kept his gaze fixed on Sefa. What would he say? Would he think Seth had gone the easy way out? Would he shrug and at least credit him for not hurting himself? Seth found himself swallowing several times.

"You're number one," Sefa finally said, giving a sharp nod. "Best in the class. For _now,_ at least."

More than a few of the other kids gasped, and one kid, some brave soul even dared to say, "After that move _she_ did, _he's_ the best?" as he pointed to May, then at Seth.

"Yep," Sefa said and looked over at May, "You're number two, or your tied with your sister and Mustafa for number two, because you did a complicated move and did it safely. But May, let me see how smart you are. Do you feel Seth is unfairly being considered the best?

Barely had the words left Sefa's mouth and May was shaking her head. "No, he _deserves_ it."

"Why?" Sefa asked.

"Because everything he did was _pure_ professional wrestling," May said. "It was the basics and he did them well. You could put one of your sons into the ring with him right now, and with what they know, they would be able to put on a match. Maybe not the best match, but it wouldn't be the worst, by far. And those moves aren't as easy to do as most of us are probably thinking they are. Seth _made_ them look easy, because he's _that_ good."

Seth looked at May and hoped his cheeks didn't look as red as they felt. He saw Raven and Mustafa nodding, backing up what May was saying.

Sefa smiled. "Go join your friends, Seth," he said. "The four of you will be training with Mox and Roman. They need to discuss a few things with you. You'll still run and do your work outs with the rest of the folks here, but you'll be getting a lot of your actually wrestling lessons from Roman and Mox.

As Seth got out of the ring and went to stand with the Parker sisters and Mustafa, Roman and Mox came over. "I hope you want to do some serious learning," Mox said. "Because, we have a _hell_ of a storyline to work on."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_Mox was sitting alone at a table backstage, scowling angrily. He was still in his ring gear, looking a little battered and bruised as if this might have been filmed right after he'd lost the belt to Roman. _

_As he sat there, looking madder and madder with every second, the camera zoomed into a close up of his face. His nostrils were flared, his eyes squinted, then his gaze flew upward and his expression changed, first to shock, then to a more sullen expression. "What do _you_ want?" _

_The camera view pulled back and you could see Roman, Marc, Nathan, and Lance standing there. Roman still had his ring gear on, and had the belt draped over his shoulder, as if it were a baby in need of burping. _

_Without asking for permission, all four of the Reigns sat down at the table. Nathan spun his chair around and sat in it, resting his arms on the back of the chair. "Mox," Nathan said, his voice deep and commanding, as if he hadn't aged a day since he was part of Samoan Pride, one of, if not the best tag team to come out of professional wrestling. "You're a damned good wrestler." Marc, Roman, and Lance nodded in unison. _

"_Oh?" Mox snorted. "If I'm so great, why am _I_ not the one with the belt? Oh, that's right, because _you_ cheated." He sneered at Roman. _

_Roman shrugged and looked as if he might argue the point, but Nathan held up his hand, motioning Roman to keep his words to himself. "Mox," Nathan said, "we know you're a loner. We know you have no family." _

"_What does that have to do with anything?" Mox asked, still looking sullen._

"_We think you need a family," Nathan said. As if on cue, Marc, Lance, and Roman once again bobbed their heads in agreement. _

_Mox scoffed. "Are you kidding? Womey Weins over here has the belt, what do you need me for? To prop him up? Never going to happen." _

"_No," Roman agreed. "I don't need_ you_ to prop me up, I stand on my own." _

"_Really?" Mox smirked. "Because from where I _sit,_ you can't do a damned thing unless your brother stacks the odds in your favor." _

_Again, Roman opened his mouth to answer, again Nathan raised his hand, instructing him to keep quiet. "Do you really think the Championship is the only gold you can get around here?"_

_Mox scowled. "It's the only belt I know of in this place." _

"_Right now, yes," Nathan agreed. "But what if I told you we're bringing tag team belts into the promotion?" _

_Mox's eyes went wide for just a moment, then narrowed again. "And you're thinking I'm going to win one of those?" he asked. "With who?" He jerked his thumb in Lance's direction. "Runt over there ain't ready to wrestle the big boys. And Marc sure as hell ain't gonna risk getting his suit messy."_

_Lance scowled, but Nathan's hand raised in that now familiar, "Be quiet" gesture. "True," he said to Mox. "But, we think you're better than anything this promotion has to offer, with the exception of Roman. And you even defeated him before, so maybe you and Roman are more equal than it looks." _

_Without his fancy suit, the babes clinging to him, and in the presence of his father, Roman looked far less intimidating. While his father's remark to Mox was a little insulting to him, Roman hesitated then nodded. _

"_Again, how do we do this? I don't have a tag team partner," Mox said. "The locker room doesn't like to work with me. Gesh, I bust a few bones, break a couple skulls, and suddenly they all think I'm too-" he paused to bring his fingers up into air quotes, as he'd done on his very first promo, "-'aggressive' for them." _

"_And we _like_ that you're aggressive," Nathan said with a trace of a smile. "So, we'll find you a partner. The important thing is-" he paused, staring at Mox. "-that we keep the gold in the family. You get it?" _

_Mox nodded, looking a little less hostile. "I get it. But I don't _have_ a family."_

"_You do now," Nathan said, "If you want it. You'll never be alone again. And soon enough, you'll be wearing gold around your waist too. All you have to do is say yes." _

_The camera pulled in on Mox's face which still looked sullen, but also showed signs he was thinking about the offer. He shook his head for a moment, as if he was going to decline the offer, then stare straight at Nathan. "You've got a deal," he said, offering his hand to shake._

_Nathan raised his own hand, but instead of shaking Mox's, he pulled it to the table, slapping it, palm down, covering it with his own, larger one. Then he looked around the table._

_Slowly, Marc brought his hand down on top of Nathan's, then Lance, then Roman. "You're family now," Sefa said. "And family takes care of each other. You'll never walk alone again, Mox. From here on out, someone will _always_ have your back." _

_The camera zoomed in on Mox's face, and for a moment, Mox's eyes were glittering, but if it was because he was overcome at the notion of having a family now, or determination, it was hard to tell. _

_The camera pulled back again, showing the five of them, hands still covering each other on the table. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Whoa!" Raven said as the camera faded to black and the DVD ended. "That was _awesome!" _ She looked at Mox, who had gotten up to remove the DVD from the player. They were in one of the rooms used to teach things other than the physical aspects of wrestling. "You make the dudes on WWF look like the amateurs, _that's_ how good you are!"

"Thanks," Mox said, shrugging, his cheeks growing slightly pink under the overly enthusiastic praise.

"You are really good," May agreed and Mustafa nodded along, which Raven thought was a little lame and not fitting of the performance they had just watched, but maybe they were just stunned. _ Or, in May's case, a little fluttery because she's sitting next to Roman. Get over it, sis. _

"That's the promotion Lance put on the website this week," Roman said. "It's also in some downloading sites. We do have a fan base that doesn't live close enough to come to the shows, but they watch it through the internet."

"So, you have to find a tag team partner," Mustafa said, with a grin that on others might have made him look as if he was smirking, but for some reason, a smirk on Mustafa's face didn't stop making him look like a good guy, as if he didn't know how to be anything but nice.

_I'll bet he has a steady girlfriend, _Raven thought. _She's not considered the prettiest girl in school, but he thinks she's beautiful, and really she is, but because she is quiet, keeps to herself, wears clothing bigger than a couple of bandannas and some shoelaces, and is on the honor roll, she can't be more beautiful than some bleached blonde thing that runs the cheer leading squad and dresses like she just leaped off the pole, threw on a pair of tight jeans and scampered off to school. His girlfriend dresses nicely, but not slutty. She probably has dark hair and bronze skin that tans easily. Yesh, Raven, you just mentally thought of his girlfriend being a dead ringer for May. _What failed to cross her mind, was that the same description fit her as well.

"Yeah," Mox said. "But we're already pretty sure who we want it to be." He looked over at Seth. "How about it?"

"Me?" Seth looked honestly pleased and surprised, which in turn surprised Raven. Seth was friends with the Reigns kids, why _wouldn't_ he think Mox would pick him? "You think I can do it?"

Mox nodded. "We do," he said, indicated himself and Roman.

Seth nodded. "I'm going to need to do some _serious_ practicing with you, Mox."

"We're going to form a faction," Mox said, grinning. "And it's going to be awesome."

"Sounds good," May said, "But, uh, what's our job? No offense, but why are we here?"

"Because, baby girl," Roman said, smiling at May, "What good is a faction of evil if there isn't a faction of good to counter it."

Raven half expected her sister to melt in her chair and ooze onto the floor when Roman called her "Baby girl." _Oh, for the love of god, cut that shit out, May! _She looked over at Mox to see how he was reacting. His expression was neutral as if the term of endearment and May's reaction to it just didn't register on his radar. He did seem to sense Raven looking at him though, and turned his head in her direction. Raven looked away quickly, feeling her cheeks and forehead growing red.

He watched her for a lot longer than a few seconds, and his eyes narrowed, and Raven had no clue what was going on, but she sensed he wasn't happy at her admiration of him, quite the opposite.

For the rest of the discussion, Raven listened, but didn't say another word, just nodded in agreement. Which was sad, because it should have been one of the most exciting conversations she'd ever been involved in. This was their first full day at the academy, and they were being asked to be involved in the major academy plot line. It was going to be hard work, and she knew the three of them would have to stay on their toes and work twice as hard as the other campers, but that wasn't a problem, it was more like getting an unexpected present. But, she had somehow gotten under Mox's skin and she had no clue how she'd done it. She went out of her way not to look at him, not to look at anyone, and to only nod in agreement to everything and offer no more opinions. _Gesh, is it some type of crime to think he's a good wrestler? _

She saw her sister looking over at her, with a puzzled expression on her face, and shrunk further down in her seat as if trying to disappear.

* * *

Thank you for reading, than you for favoring and following, than you for commenting if you sincerely wanted to let me know you're enjoying the story.

Until Next week, take care...


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: It's all illegal. We all know that. Technically, it's illegal. But, it's also a way to keep the product interesting for some folks and the WWE doesn't have to do a darned thing, just sit back and let us do the work. So, it's kinda to their benefit to let us do this. Not to mention the fan community has a tendency to get really angry at cease and desist letters.

.

**Chapter Four**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"May!" Mox called out, before she could leave the room.

May Parker turned around. She didn't have the thousands of tiny braids pulled back in one ponytail, so as she turned, the braids swished about her head, their tiny beads clicking. "Yes?"

Mox walked over, part of him wondering how long it took to get her hair into those braids and another part just grateful it was just the two of them. When the meeting was over in time for dinner, Raven had practically tipped over the table in her eagerness to leave. Mustafa, Seth, and Roman left together after Raven almost ran out the door. Fortunately, May pause to tie her sneaker, leaving the two of them alone. "Is your sister all right?" he asked.

May frowned, her brow furrowing. "Yes," she said, looking as if she wasn't sure if she should be concerned or defensive. "Why are you asking?"

Mox drew in a breath, wanting to get things cleared up, but not quite sure how he should approach this. "Well," he began, then paused. "Uh.."

"What is it?" May asked sounding slightly impatient. She drew herself up to her full height, which couldn't have been five feet, and squared her shoulders. Mox realize he towered over the diminutive girl.

"Is your sister _crushing_ on me, or something?" Mox finally blurted out.

"Why would you ask that?" May said, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Because she looks at me like I'm some type of God," Mox said, "Because she was _way_ too enthusiastic about that promo."

"So, everyone who _loves_ your work is _in love_ with you, Mr. Reigns?" she asked, head tipped to one side. "Is _that_ how it works?"

"Moxley," Mox said. "I go by the last name of Moxley."

"Forgive me," May said, her voice curt. "Mr. Reigns introduced you as one of his boys, I assumed you went by the same last name and I wanted to show you the proper respect, Mr. Moxley. I won't make that mistake again."

_Damn, she froze up! _ Mox thought. "Look, uh, no need to get all defensive, I was just asking."

"Why are you asking?" May said, crossing her arms over her more than ample chest, gripping her arms as if she was cold. "What else has my sister done to concern you that she might be… _'crushing'_ on you?"

_Okay, rule number one, don't do or say anything bad or negative about Raven, unless you want her sister to hate you._ "Look, I was just asking because she's always _looking_ at me… you know? Like _looking_ at me. Like she thinks I'm _special_ or something. And I was just wondering, because-"

"-Because my younger sister isn't up to _your_ standards?" May interrupted.

"Wow, defensive much?" Mox asked, having enough of this attitude. He was asking a fair question, wasn't he? Raven had been looking at him a lot since she got here, more than she needed to. Until he'd stared back at her during the meeting as if to let her know he knew she was watching him.

"When it comes to my family, I am," May said, relaxing only slightly. "But, since this is obviously something important to you, let me hasten to reassure you, _Mr_. Moxley, that Raven's admiration for you, extends _only_ to your wrestling ability. While I'm sure you are _constantly_ dealing with girls throwing themselves at your feet, I can guarantee my sister's interest is purely over your wrestling ability, not your prowess with the ladies."

"What prowess with ladies?" Mox asked, feeling completely confused now. _Is she mistaking me for Roman or Marc? _

His bewilderment must have shown on his face, because May sighed and looked slightly less defensive. "Why are you so concerned my sister might be 'crushing' on you? Do you think that now she can service you, should none of your other girlfriends be available? Or, perhaps that she's not _worthy_ of giving sexual favors to the great and powerful Mr. Moxley?"

"No!" Mox took a couple steps back from her, unable to stop himself. "Why the hell would you think _that? _We're _kids!"_

"Why else would you suspect my sister was crushing on you?" May said, looking as if she was getting tired of this conversation. "Either you want to take advantage of her, or you want to make sure she won't damage your cred. Which is it?"

"Neither!" Mox said, growing a little tired of this, himself. "Look, I just wanted to make sure if she was crushing on me, that nothing was going to happen. I don't date girls!"

May's eyes widened and a look of understanding crossed her face and Mox almost groaned knowing she reached the wrong conclusion. "Oh, okay," she said, calming down instantly and trying to reassure him. "I can guarantee Raven has no interest in you, sexually. And she's not going to think any less of you because you're-"

"I'm not _gay_, either," Mox interrupted. "I-I just don't care about _any_ of that. And I didn't want your sister to think I was being a jerk or something. I'm not a jerk, and I _wan_t to work with her, I just didn't want her to think, well, that I was _rejecting_ her. I just don't… do _anything_ like that, _ever."_

May's body language still indicated that she was more relaxed, but now she was curious. "Really? No interest at all? Do you know why? And, if I'm being too personal, tell me to mind my own business."

"I have a fair idea why," Mox said, "but I don't want to talk about it. I just, well, I consider myself to be asexual. A _celibate_ asexual."

May bit her lip as if thinking carefully if she should say something, then shrugged. "I can assure you, Raven has no interest in you sexually at all. At this point, Raven's idea of a hot time with you, would be to swap stories about the best wrestling matches you've both seen and pick your brains for promo ideas. And I can guarantee this because… well, my sister has, uh, Sexual Aversion Disorder."

Mox had heard that term before, from his talk therapist and his social worker. He knew it described him better than asexual, but the problem with Sexual Aversion Disorder was that last word, _disorder._ Asexual sounded like something merely unusual. Most folks were straight, a fair number were gay/lesbian, bisexual, transsexual. A smaller amount, were just.. asexual. Disorder made it sound like it was something that needed to be fixed as quick as possible, preferably by having some type of sexual relationship. "Uh, I'm sorry to hear that?"

May sighed. "I said too much and not enough and it isn't fair to my sister. I will tell you that what happened to her had nothing to do with anyone in the family. None of our brothers or sisters or our parents, grandparents, uncles, so on and so forth ever abused her sexually. Beyond that, it's her business to tell or not tell, but let's just say that the most Raven wants out of you is to admire you for your wrestling and promo abilities. The most _intimate_ relationship you are going to get out of her is she _might_ look at you as a brother figure. There are eleven kids in our family, so she's very comfortable with the concept of siblings."

"_Eleven kids?_" Mox repeated, not sure if he was hearing this correctly. "_Eleven?_ Was it a _contest_ or something?"

For the first time since he approached her, May relaxed and even smiled. "No, it was not a contest. And before you ask, we aren't Catholic, either. If you ask my mother, she will give you her most charming smile and tell you, 'We're just poor, white, trash.'"

She quoted her mother with a distinct "Southern belle" accent, which made Mox chuckle, almost involuntarily. "I'll bet that shuts them up."

"It does," May said, the last of her defenses crumbling. She shook her head. "Again, I'm sorry, I jumped down your throat, Mox. I'm just a little protective." She bit her lip. "Again, I'm talking too much about my sister, and it's not fair, but let's just say there was a time when she needed me, and I was caught up in my own thing, and didn't know it until it was too late."

"Well, I just didn't…" Mox began, then sighed. "I'm sorry if I came across like I was disgusted by your sister, it's just…" his voice trailed off as he searched for the right words, "She loves wrestling. That's cool. I think you, her, and Mustafa are going to make a great counter faction to ours. I-I just didn't want her to… you know, start thinking it was going to be any more than wrestling."

"I wouldn't worry about that," May said. "_All_ Raven wants to do is wrestle. Especially while she's here. This is a dream come true, she sure didn't come down here to flirt with you, if that's what you were afraid of. In fact, if you weren't so good at being a wrestler, she probably wouldn't give you the time of day."

Mox was almost embarrassed with the relief he felt. "That's good," he said, "Because this is really important to me. This whole storyline. And we don't have a lot of time to build it. You three are only here for a couple weeks. We've got Seth for four, but I want to get something good off the ground in the two weeks you guys are here."

"Well, if hard work is what it takes, we'll get it done," May said. The two of them left the room and left the building, walking together. "Raven and I are not afraid of hard work and we knew when we were coming here, we'd be working ourselves as hard as we could for two weeks. So, even if we barely sleep, we'll do what it takes not to let you, or your family down." they walked to the point where they would have to part, her to head to the dining hall, him to head to the house to eat with his family. She paused then. "But… look, if you want to make it easier, you might want to explain to Raven that all is good between the two of you, that there was just a misunderstanding and that all you care about is the wrestling. She'll agree. Because right now, she thinks you're upset with her and it doesn't make sense to her."

Mox thought for a moment, and nodded. "I will. Maybe after dinner, I'll find her, unless she goes right to bed."

"She did last night, tonight she might take advantage of the bit of free time we have."

"Okay. I'll look for her.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox found Raven in the weight room after dinner, alone, and lifting weights. And while lifting weights alone was a violation of camp rules, Mox was relieved. "Aren't you crashing with the rest of the campers?" he asked, as he came into the room and saw her lying on the bench, raising and lowering 100 lbs easily, as if she could do this all night. _She does serious weight lifting, _Mox thought.

She kept lifting up, and lowering to just before her chest, saying nothing, but raising one shoulder off the bench in a shrug.

"You're not supposed to do that without a spotter," Mox said and realized the moment the words came out of his mouth, how irritating they must sound. Not that he was wrong, it was a rule, and if Sefa or one of the other instructors caught her, she could be in serious trouble, but the two of them were already having troubles getting along, the last thing he needed was to come off like the heavy. "So, why don't I spot for you?" he said hastily, trying to make it right.

She raised the weights and put them in the resting bar and sat up, before he could come over and get into spotter position. "I'm fine," she said, looking about a little nervously. "I can stop. Sorry I broke the rules."

"I'm not going to report you," he said, "I've lifted alone, too. I _am_ gonna ask you not to do it anymore, because if someone else catches you, you could be in serious trouble. And, I really don't want to have you tossed out of the shows just because you wanted to train harder."

She looked at him. "You still want me in the shows?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "You're strong, you're good, and you're willing to work your ass off. Why _wouldn't_ I want you in the show?"

"Maybe because you don't like me," she said, flatly. "Or, I pissed you off. I'm not sure which, but you sure didn't seem to like me at the meeting today."

Mox sighed, feeling both reluctant to be at this point, but yet, knowing it had to happen, that this was the entire reason he tracked her down after dinner. _ I should be grateful she brought it up, that we don't have to play around and eventually get to the point. _"You didn't piss me off," he said. "I-I thought maybe… uh… you were _crushing_ on me?" He realized how conceited that sounded and hastily added, "Yeah, I know, I have a big ego and all, but-"

"No," Raven said, her voice mostly flat but with a little bit of caution in it. "If I were _able_ to have crushes, I'd probably have a big one on you. Because you're an awesome wrestler. I've followed you on the SPWA website. I followed you back before you disappeared with the belt and I watched you come back. I've seen your promos. You're awesome. If I was _able_ to crush on someone, it would be you, but I can't."

Hardly aware he was doing it, Mox's right hand raised to his left shoulder and he started drumming his finger along his collarbone. Now was the point where he had to decide if he mentioned his conversation with May, or pretended it never happened. He finally settled for something in the middle. "I talked to your sister after the meeting and she set me straight. She told me you… had no interest in romantic relationships with anyone." He mentally patted himself on the back, thinking he'd put it in the best way possible. He hadn't made it sound like she had a disorder, or that there was anything weird about her. 'No interest' was about as neutral as you could get.

Raven's eyes narrowed. "What else did she tell you?"

"Nothing." Mox tried to make it sound like a statement, but his voice raised on the end, so it came out sounding like a question instead.

"She said _something_ happen," Raven said, and it was an obvious statement, not a question. "She gave you some vague ideas that I've had some bad shit happen to me in the past, but she didn't give you any detail. Probably left you with the impression I was raped or something. Is that close?" She stared at him, studying his face carefully for any hints that what she was saying resonated with him.

Mox shook his head. "She did say you had Sexual Aversion Disorder," he admitted. "But she also said it had nothing to do with your family or something like that."

"Because we always protect the family," Raven said, and she smiled a genuine smile. Then her expression changed. "But she still just left vague ideas. You want to know the truth? Because a lot of folks that got involved in the whole mess think _I'm_ the guilty one."

Mox wasn't sure if he wanted to hear this or not. He had a hard enough time dealing with his own abusive past, now he was being asked to hear about someone else's. But, he was a little curious too. He was smart enough to know abuse came in all different shapes and sizes and methods. What was Raven's? "If you feel comfortable telling me?"

"It's not a big deal," Raven said, shrugging again. "I got suspended for breaking one kid's jaw and another kid's wrist."

"Oh-kay," Mox said, drawing out the word. "Uh, having a bad day?"

"No," Raven said, "Just finally had enough."

Mox moved over to another weight bench across from the one Raven was sitting on, and sat on that. "There's more to this story, isn't there?"

Raven nodded. "Look, in my family, uh, the girl have a tendency to… mature quickly. Physically, if not emotionally, at least. Her gaze went down to her chest, which was almost as large as her sister's. "So, I started, let's say, _developing_, when I was ten. I was also smart, and skipped fourth grade. This meant that I went into Seventh grade when I was ten going on eleven. I was the youngest kid, and physically, I looked more mature than most of the girls in the school."

"Okay," Mox said, nodding as if he understood where this was going, even though he hadn't been to school since he'd been in kindergarten, so in truth, had no clue.

"There were a group of boys in the school," Raven said. "The leader of the group was a kid named Barry. His father was the principal of the school." Raven paused and swallowed. "You already know that my grandfather had been training me in martial arts. I was pretty good by the time I was ten, nowhere near a master, but able to take care of myself in most situations. The first thing my grandfather taught me was that martial arts were power and I was not allowed to abuse that power. I could defend myself if needed, but I wasn't ever supposed to be the aggressor. So, I'm at this school, with this group of boys, who decided that since I was more… developed than the other girls, and they were curious, that they had the right to…" She really hesitated before answering, "touch me."

Mox found himself scowling.

"It probably wasn't as bad as you're thinking right now," Raven hastily explained. "At least it started out that way. They'd always find some excuse to go past me and, uh, rub against me. Then they started grabbing my bra in the back, snapping it. Shout things at me when I walked by, like, 'here comes Raven's tits! Raven will be here in an hour!' you know, stupid stuff. But I didn't like it. And I complained to the principal, who told me, that boys will be boys and maybe if I dressed more like a lady, they'd stop."

"Like a lady?" Mox asked.

"I usually wore jeans and t-shirts," Raven said. "Not tight t-shirts, or tight jeans. I got a lot of my jeans from my brothers, Calvin and Brian's outgrown pile. I didn't care that they were guys jeans, as long as they fit me. I didn't wear them sagging down to my knees so everyone saw my underwear, my mom hated that look, so my jeans weren't tight, but they weren't falling off either. I wore a lot of flannels shirts too, because they're comfortable. The principal thought I needed to wear plain dresses down to my shins or something, you know, no shape to them, just a straight dress. I hate dresses. I didn't think there was anything wrong with how I dressed. My mom and one of my other sisters, Shelly, wanted me to wear pretty clothes, you know, cute skirts and pastel blouses that fit me just right. That's not my style, but even if it was, I sure wasn't going to wear them in front of_ those_ guys. I even asked my sister Shelly, who can sew, if she could make me some dress the principal would consider 'ladylike.'"

"Did she?" Mox asked, trying to ignore this churning feeling in his stomach. _This is her story, not yours. Just listen, don't let it affect you, she needs you to listen._

"No, she thought that was stupid." Raven looked down at her hands, which were fidgeting in her lap. "'Why would you want to wear something like that, Raven? It's just not your style and it would look so ugly!' Maybe I should have told her, but I was… embarrassed, you know? It was like I felt the only way to explain it was to tell her the principal said that unless I wore clothing like that, I was dressing slutty."

"Did _you_ think you were dressing slutty?" Mox asked.

"I had no clue!" Raven said. "I barely knew what the concept of being slutty was. I sorta gathered it was dressing in a way that said to boys that I wanted to have sex with them. And from what I could gather, anything that made a girl look… _pretty_ was slutty. And as far as I'm concerned, I never dressed trying to look pretty, just _comfortable_."

"You should be able to dress however you want," Mox said flatly. He knew this game. Oh, sure, this was a different version than he had played on him growing up, but it added up to the same thing. 'You are turning me on and it's your fault. You are a bad person for making me want you.'

"Tell my former principal that," Raven said, snorting. "Anyway, I did my best to stay out of Barry and his buddies way, but they were trying to find any excuse to harass me. Mostly verbally, but they still did a lot of rubbing against me when they could, or bra snapping. If a teacher was watching, they didn't snap my bra, but they would find ways to rub up against me and if I objected, they would talk about how it wasn't _their_ fault that we'd been bunched together. Fire alarms were the worst, because we'd all be crowded together in the halls and they'd get behind me and start rubbing against my butt, or one guy would get in front of me, another behind me, and I'd get smashed in the middle. Again though, if I complained, it was either ignored, dismissed as boys being boys, or I'd be made to feel like it was my fault."

Mox tried not to wince. "Didn't you tell your family?" he asked. "May made it sound like you and your zillion brothers and sisters are pretty close."

At the "zillions" remark, Raven gave a genuine smile. "Eleven is _not_ a zillion. And I just felt uncomfortable. I'm one of the older kids, so that eliminated about half of my siblings. I wanted to talk to my parents about it, but again, I felt like I was guilty of something. It was always made out like if I wasn't just… _me_, you know? If I had smaller boobs, or more boyish hips. I considered giving up martial arts and all the training and trying to get fat, you know? But I thought if I was fat, my boobs and ass would get bigger and that would make it worse. And, at that point, the martial arts was the only thing I had. That and May and I trying to do wrestling moves we saw on TV or at ESW."

"ESW?"

"Empire State Wrestling," Raven explained. "It's a tiny promotion up in New York. My grandfather took us there almost every Saturday night. At least May and I, but sometimes the other kids who wanted to go. My whole family, except maybe my mother, loves wrestling, but only May and I love it enough to want to _be_ wrestlers. So, we'd practice moves we'd seen, even though we weren't supposed to."

She smiled and for a moment, looked happy, like the girl that had been at the meeting earlier that day, before Mox had started making her feel uncomfortable. Mox decided that happy Raven was a lot more fun than nervous Raven, but he also knew she needed to finish her story, so he said nothing, but nodded to let her know she was ready when he wanted to continue.

"So, I just sorta lived with it and dealt with it," Raven said. "I should have told someone, I know I should have. My parents, my grandparents, someone, _anyone_ who might help me, but I-I was.. embarrassed. Ashamed maybe. Like _I_ was doing something wrong, but I had no clue what it was, so I couldn't _fix_ it." She sighed. "I'm making no sense, am I?"

"No, you're making perfect sense," Mox said, thinking she had no clue how well he _did_ understand.

"Then, one day, some kid pulled an alarm, so we all had to go outside for the fire drill," Raven said. And of course, Barry was behind me, and in front of me was one of his buddies, both squeezing me between them, trying to act like it was just the crowd. Then, Barry did this thing he could do really well, some motion with his fingers, over my shirt, that unhooked my bra. And he's rubbing against me, and I'm feeling sicker and sicker, but also, madder and madder. We got outside and he and his friends were still surrounding me, trapping me, and then Barry put his hand under my shirt, and brought it around, touching my, uh… well… fuck, nipple, is the only way I know how to describe it. He touched it and I just lost it."

"Lost it how?" Mox asked.

"I grabbed Barry's wrist and twisted it and broke it. There are a lot of places where the human body is weak, and if you can do something in a certain way, it doesn't take much force to hurt them, badly. I know a lot of those ways. I know how to avoid doing them, but I was beyond avoiding. I could have just hurt him and not broken his wrist, but I didn't care. I _wanted_ to break his wrist. I was happier than I'd been in school in _weeks_ when I heard the bones snap. I know, it was wrong, but I was just so tired of it and this voice in my head kept going, 'it'll be a few weeks before you touch my boobs with that hand, you bucket of puke.' Then the guy in front of him went after me, so I kicked him in the jaw… well, no, not really the jaw, I kicked him in the mouth. I think I wanted to kick out his teeth, but luckily for him, he must have opened his mouth and I got my foot in there and took his jaw off the hinges."

"And that was _lucky?"_ Mox asked, trying not to laugh. Part of him wanted to leap up and cheer for this girl, do a few air punches, whatever. He barely knew her, so he knew he had no right, but he was proud of her and wished that could have been him when he was younger. Strong and fighting back.

"_Dis_located jaws can be located and fixed," Raven said, shrugging. "Adult teeth do not grow back. Yeah, that kid will have a glass jaw probably all his life, but if he stays out of trouble, he'll be fine. Nobody wants to be in High School with dentures."

"Good point." Mox nodded. "So, what happened?"

"I got expelled." Raven said.

"_What?"_ Mox sputtered. "_Why?"_

"My word against theirs," Raven said with a shrug. "Barry and his buddies denied doing anything. Seeing that Barry was his son, the principal took his side. My parents found out about the whole thing of course, and to give them credit they took my side. They took it all the way up the chain of command, the superintendent of schools for the entire state, but we lost."

"How could you lose?" Mox asked. "You had told the principal before, didn't anyone realize-"

"I was _trained_ to be able to hurt people," Raven interrupted. "And even though I wasn't supposed to use it unless my life was threatened, I did. They were not endangering me, but I acted as if they were."

"But… they were _hurting _you," Mox protested. "They were touching you where you didn't want to be touched. It's _your_ body, not _theirs!"_

"I agree," Raven said. "My grandfather wasn't happy because I violated one of the rules of martial arts, but he understood. He just said I should have talked to him earlier. My parents understood. But nobody else did, because there's a universal truth nobody likes to talk about."

"What's that?"

Raven sighed and looked down at her hands, refusing to look him in the eyes. Then she spoke as if quoting something she might hear in her nightmares. "'Boys will be boys, Gwen. You have to expect that. Just because they were teasing you, doesn't give you permission to physically assault them.'"

"That is _bullshit,_" Mox said, his nostrils flaring. "They _were_ physically assaulting you. They _were_ touching you. And even _saying_ stuff was wrong. Just because they're guys doesn't mean they _own_ you."

"Tell that to every raped woman who watched her rapist go free," Raven said, her voice bitter. "Or every raped women who was talked into not pressing charges, because to do so would humiliate her, and hurt the reputation of her rapist." She wiped at her eyes angrily, before Mox even saw the tears. "Boys get away with feeling girls up, men get away with raping them. I wasn't raped, but I was made to feel my body wasn't mine. Or, that my body was something evil that I somehow needed to control, because it made boys want to do bad things. If I had the right body, or wore the right clothes, my body wouldn't have affected them. And I could have pressed charges, my family and I considered it, but… I was told I'd have to relive it over and over again. I'd have to deal with being asked if I enjoyed any of it, encouraged any of it. It was easier to just tell myself that it wasn't like I was raped or anything, Barry just copped a feel and I flipped out."

"Are you still expelled?" Mox asked.

Raven shook her head. "I was homeschooled until High School," she said. "Last year I was a Freshman at the same High School my sibs all attended or will attend, unless we move. The Principal at that school has a zero tolerance for that type of thing. But, I still keep to myself. I eat lunch with my sibs, and that's fine with me. I'm younger than most of the kids in the school, because of the grad skip and got through homeschooling junior high faster. But, I'm considered broken or something. Because I'm at the age where I should at least find guys or girls or whatever attractive and I just don't. Not only don't I find anyone attractive, but I find the idea of you know, anything sexual, revolting. My parents make me go to counseling and my counselor said that I'll probably outgrow it, but it will take time and work." She shook her head. "My counselor asks me all the time if I masturbate."

Mox's lip curled. He still was seeing his therapist, but that subject came up once and Mox was pretty clear it was not for discussion. He figured his therapist was waiting for the day when Mox burst in the door, looking all excited and proclaiming he'd spanked the monkey, and it was great, but until that day, it was subject forbidden. He'd be furious if he was asked all the time. "Can't you tell him to shut up?"

"Her," Raven corrected. "What I usually do is shake my head and say if I do, I'll let her know. I think she believes if I could just rub one out, I'd find out that sex has a good side."

"Just because something feels good, doesn't mean you liked it, or even wanted it," Mox murmured.

"What?" Raven scowled. "I never _liked _what those boys did to me."

"Never mind," Mox said. "I'm just remembering something from when I was younger." He looked at Raven, noting how vulnerable she looked right now, knowing that she had exposed herself to him in a way that most folks would never understand, but in a way, more intimate than if she had undressed. "Are you going to be able to wrestle?" he asked her. "I mean, _really_ wrestle? I saw you and Mustafa doing that martial arts stuff, but that didn't involve a lot of touching. When this game gets going, you and me, Seth and Roman, all of us are going to end up touching each other all over the place. Will you be able to handle it?"

Raven nodded. "I thought that over before I came here," she confessed. "My grandfather even took me to ESW for a few practices. He also got May a job there next year, so she can be trained, but I'm too young and that's besides the point. Anyway, I got to do a few move with some of the guys there, they did most of it, just kept me safe, and I can handle it. Because it's… impersonal, you know? I mean, it's pretty touchy feely, but it's not bad. There's no intent behind it, at least not the guys I practiced with. It's like someone teaching you to fish. They stand behind you, they put their hands on yours, show you how to cast the line, all of that, but it's just the means to an end. No one is making little panting noises and rubbing against you, they're just trying to show you. Or, in wrestling, trying to flip you around or pretend to hit you. It wasn't like any of them tried to hit me any place inappropriate and the few times they had to get near my crotch, it was… just part of it, you know?"

Mox nodded. If anyone knew that, it was him. Wrestling was about as intimate as you could be with another person, but it wasn't sexual. "Okay, just want to make sure." He looked at the girl. "Raven, I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable today. I misread you and I'm sorry."

Raven shrugged. "It's okay, Mox. I just think you're pretty awesome. You're not that much older than I am, you're only a little older than my sister, and you've done _so_ much and you're _so_ good at it. I probably laid on the hero worship a little too thick and I'm sorry. Can we be friends?"

Mox smiled. "You mean we aren't?"

"I'd like to think we are."

"Good, then we're friends." Mox stood up, indicating she should do the same. "I need to close this area down and clean it, so we should go."

Raven nodded, as she stood. "I'm glad we're friends," she said.

"Me too. Until it comes time for your little faction to take us on," He squinted his eyes at her, trying to look tough. "Then you're going down!"

"Better bring an army," Raven retorted. "_My_ faction will not go down without a fight. And we will leave this camp wearing _all_ the gold!"

Mox put his fist out, giving her the option of what to do. Raven hesitated, then bumped it with her own. "Tomorrow is going to come way too early, isn't it?"

"Yep," Mox agreed. "So, you really should head to your cabin and get to bed."

It was still faintly light when they left the gym together. The girl's cabin was closest to the house, she nodded to Mox and ran towards the cabin.

Mox watched until he saw her go inside and the door shut. Then he headed towards the house to do some sleeping of his own.

* * *

**Author's** **Notes**: Raven's experiences are based on a lot of girls I knew when I was growing up and it shouldn't be that way. Raven's story should be something almost unbelievable or so uncommon that it comes across as shocking as Mox's past is.


	5. Chapter 5

In regards to my last disclaimer. No, I did not get a cease and desist letter, at least not for this fandom and not recently. I put it up because I was involved in a "is this legal?" discussion and... well, sometimes they lurk (someone I know offline.. so if you're reading this, "Hi! Get it now?") so I just wanted to put it out there. It might technically be illegal, but this is a commercial site. If it was really illegal, it wouldn't be.

Sorry if I worried anyone.

* * *

.

**Chapter Five**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_The War of Factions_ storyline, as it had been nicknamed, was something that in a regular promotion, might have gone on for months. Unfortunately, two week session at the camp wasn't really enough time to give it fair due. Sefa tried to give it the time it needed by deciding to hold Friday and Saturday night shows, which would give them double, but four shows still wasn't enough to bring another faction up to the same level. At least the Family Faction would have four weeks, and thus, eight shows, with Seth.

"It seems to me, we've got two choices," Sefa remarked at breakfast, Wednesday morning.

"What?" Lance asked, as he shoveled scrambled eggs into his mouth, much to Jen's disapproval, who shot him a look that made him instantly close his mouth and carefully chew.

"We move this along at lightning speed and just have the 'other' faction disappear and we start up another faction with some of the other students. That reminds me, what is the other faction going to be called?" The family faction had settled on the name The Citadel.

"We're not sure yet, but we told them to think about it," Roman said, "We've been working them so hard on the wrestling part of it, because we have to get them ready for _Friday._ Seth's doing well, which is good, because we've got a promo to do with him and Marc would like to try shooting it today, so we have the time for reshoots, if needed. Mustafa, May, and Raven are doing really good too, but they all pretty much lack real wrestling experience. So, we've been spending every free second teaching them and doing mock matches. Which reminds me, Dad, have you and Calico found three people in the remaining kids that could form another tag team and a partner for one of the girls or Mustafa in the four way tag team fight for the belts?"

"We've found two," Sefa said. "I might throw Machete into team with one of the the Parker sisters, or Mustafa. He looks young enough and with his character, it looks like a dick move on my part."

"Language," Jen said. She was coming over to the table with a pot of coffee and another plate of eggs.

"I call it the way I see it," Sefa said. "It's a dick move. No other way to put it that would fit." He held up his cup for Jen to fill.

"How about mean, cruel, unfair, so on and so forth?" Jen suggested as she filled his cup and put the plate of eggs down. "_Those_ would work, too."

"Dick sounds more effective."

"What's the other idea?" Mox asked, ending the semi argument. He held up his own mug for coffee, which Jen filled, leaving a little bit of room for cream.

"I call the other kids parents and see if we can let them stay for two more weeks along with Seth," Sefa said. "Yeah, it would be a hassle, the next group of campers are adults and there aren't going to be any girls in that group, but we can make it work. And, of course, I'll offer them the second two weeks for free, like I'm doing with Seth."

"You're _not_ going to make those young ladies sleep in cabins with men!" Jen's voice was firm, making it clear there was to be no arguing on that.

"No, we'll have to put them up in the house." Sefa said, taking a sip of his coffee. "If they don't mind sharing a bed, we can put them in Lance's room and Lance can bunk with Roman and Mox."

"I don't mind," Lance said quickly. While he loved having his own room most of the time, it was nice to sometimes share a room with Mox and Roman. It made him feel as if he was one of the guys, not the little brother.

"Seth and Mustafa can stay in the dorms where they are now," Sefa continued. "I'll switch them so they're using the same bunk bed, one on top, the other on the bottom. The next group isn't completely full, so they can just stay where they are. It's not like there's _that_ much of an age difference between the two of them and the other guys. And we keep the other guys so busy they'll just end up seeing each other in passing." He took the platter of eggs and spooned more on his plate. "Would you mind feeding them in the house though, Jen? I figure if the girls are going to be sleeping in here, you'll want them to take their meals here and it wouldn't be fair to separate the boys because of that. I know the food in the mess hall is good, but yours is better."

Jen nodded with an expression that said she wouldn't think of doing anything else.

"Do you think you can do all that?" Mox asked, warming to the idea. Eight shows wasn't perfect, but it would be twice as good as four. "It sounds like it could be a pain."

"I'll try," Sefa said, shrugging. "Calico can take the regular classes this morning, I'll make some phone calls. Just promise me all of you will keep your mouths shut until we know for sure."

Roman, Lance, and Mox nodded.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Like most people, in most cases, Roman didn't like being proven wrong, but on this one, he was glad. When the double faction idea had been presented at Christmas, by Lance, it had just been an amusing idea. But when Mox came back from visiting his birth mother and step family, after the first few days when he was walking around almost dazed, he picked up on the faction idea like it was a lifeline. And when he proposed they do the whole thing with the teen camping group, Roman had been really sure this was _not_ going to work. "Most of these kids won't have had any training. If the teens do matches in the show normally, they're quick and simple matches, same with the promos. I don't know if we can pull it off," he'd argued.

He had expected his dad to be right behind him, but his dad took Mox and Lance's side. "Why not?" he'd said. "The worst that can happen is that it's a failure, and if these kids are serious enough to come to camp for two weeks and do nothing but work out and train to wrestle, they're going to have to deal with failure at some point in their lives, every wrestler does. Besides, I've gone through the apps and the video try outs these kids sent in, and I think we have some decent talent. I just hope people don't freak out over the idea of girls wrestling boys, because at least one of the ones I think will make it to the top is a girl. There's a good chance her sister will, too. I don't think it matters much when it's just training, but some folks might get pissy about it."

"Let them," Mox said, his eyes getting that glint to them. "Controversy sells tickets, Les and Cody used to tell me that."

"Well, we give the tickets away here, Sefa said, "So maybe it should be controversy sells popcorn." The shows were free, but the school made profit on the concession stand.

Roman knew he was outnumbered, but that hadn't stopped his fear, not even when he met the sisters, May and Raven, and then that Mustafa kid showed himself to be equal to the girls and Seth in both physical skills and desire. This was an awful lot to try to do. He wasn't afraid of failure himself, if he was told he was never going to be allowed to wrestle in a camp show again, that wouldn't bother him in the least. But he didn't want Mox to get hurt and if the whole thing ended up one big, sloppy mess, Mox _would_ be hurt.

But, now that it was the middle of the first week, Roman was starting to think they might actually pull this off. There had been some sort-of issue with Mox and Raven the first meeting they had, but the two of them had worked it out and had become friends. Not just wave at each other friends, but two people who sat next to each other and chatted comfortably.

_They have something that bonds them,_ Roman thought. He had a nasty suspicion what that might be, but neither of them volunteered any information and he didn't ask. Not that there was a whole lot of chat time.

Raven, May, and Mustafa, as it turned out, were fast learners and able to focus, just as much as Seth was. They also seemed to be able to thrive on less sleep than other people. The "First Four" as they'd been nicknamed by the family, were the first to show up for strength and cardio and if they had the energy after dinner, they went to the gym, or ran ropes, or practiced moves with each other.

_They're dedicated as hell, _Roman thought. _ Please, let me continue to find out my first impressions were wrong_.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Are we all set?" Marc asked, looking around the arena locker room. This was going to be a six camera promotion, and since he was in it, he'd found some kids at a local tech school with a media department, who were willing to come and do the filming in exchange for a DVD of the final cut, that would have their names on it.

The six kids, four girls and two boys, nodded. Marc was confident they'd pull it off, he'd seen their demo tapes of their work. _Now, let's just hope Seth can pull this off. It's not too hard of a part, so I think he can do it. _ Four cameras were in the inside of the locker room, two were just outside. Roman, Lance, Sefa, and Mox were out in the hallway. Inside the locker room were Seth and a handful of guy wrestlers from the class. Marc looked at them. "Okay, let's see if we can get this done in three takes or less."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Marc and Sefa watched as the cameras faded to black, ending the promo that had been shot that day. They were the only two in the editing room. The campers had been sent back to learning, the camera operators to whatever lives they lead, after being promised copies of the promo within a few days. "What do you think?"

Sefa nodded. "It's not perfect, but it doesn't have to be. It's just fine for what we need and it only took three takes, that's pretty amazing. Give it to Lance to put up on the website and onto the file sharing sites.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Okay," Sefa called out to the eight folks in the practice ring. "You are our tag team division. And when I call out your names, take a corner, Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins."

The two of them walked together to the south west corner of the ring.

"May and Raven Parker."

The sisters moved to north east corner of the ring.

"Mustafa Ali and Joey Machete."

Mustafa looked over at the wrestler known as Joe Machete, shrugged and moved with him to the south east corner.

This left two people, a guy and a girl. They looked at each other and shrugged as if they didn't know if they should just move, since it was obvious they were the last team, or wait to be announced. Having been on the sharp end of Sefa's tongue, they waited.

"Alicia Fox and Sami Callihan."

"I'm going to be teamed up with a girl?" Sami asked, looking Alicia up and down.

"Yes, you are," Sefa said, his eyes narrowing. "You got a problem with that?"

Sami shook his head and smiled brightly. "Hell no!"

"Don't make me regret I'm putting the two of you together," Sefa said, eyes still narrowed. "She's your ring partner, that's _all,_ Sami. And if I catch you doing anything inappropriate, I will toss you out of here so fast your head will spin."

"I get that," Sami said, as he headed to the north west corner of the ring. "But I can admire the view, can't I?"

Sefa rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Sami, keep your thoughts in your head. As far as you're concerned, the women in this ring are _wrestlers_, just like _you_. Any bullshit that makes me believe you think otherwise, and by _bullshit_ I mean, _eyes_ lingering too long never mind _hands_ going anywhere that had nothing to do with wrestling? I will throw you out on your ass. And remember -"

"I know, no refunds," Sami finished as if maybe he'd heard Sefa said it a little too often. "Okay, Sir, I'm sorry, Sir." He looked at Sefa, who must have seen sincerity in his eyes, because Sefa nodded.

"Okay, we're going to start working with you on matches," Sefa said. "Nothing too fancy, but something that will look good. Mox and Seth are part of the faction, the Citadel. May and Raven will be forming a faction with Mustafa. But, you're going to have to come up with names for your tag teams. You'll need them until the last Friday show, so still try to come up with something. Mull it over, talk it over when you eat, whatever, but I need to know what names you're going to go by, on Friday morning. If you don't, I'll pick a name for you, and you probably won't like it."

Everyone but Seth and Mox nodded. "Can't Raven and I just go by the Devany sisters? May asked, "Seeing that we are sisters."

"I thought your last name was Parker?" Sefa raised a brow at the girl.

"Devany is our grandfather's name," Raven explained Since he's the one that paid for us to come here and has encouraged us the most in becoming wrestlers, it seems only fitting we use his name, at least for this."

"I don't have a problem with it," Sefa said. "Then you can focus on finding a good name for your faction. Are you good with it, Raven?"

Raven shrugged. "I want my ring name to be Raven Poe, but for now, I guess it doesn't matter."

"Good," Sefa said, "Now, can we get started on the _wrestling_ part of this?" He called down to Roman, who had been patiently off to the side. "Get in the ring and give me a hand."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

It was getting near time for dinner, when Lance came running to the ring, where the tag teams were practicing. "Dad," he called out, "Mom sent me with a message." He held out a piece of paper.

Sefa took the piece of paper, opened it and smiled. "Okay, looking good, you eight. Let's call it here and let you get cleaned up so you can go to the chow hall. Raven, Mustafa, and May, can you stay behind for a minute?"

"I'm not an overnighter," Joey said, "But can I go to the mess hall anyway?"

"Sure," Sefa said. "Knock yourself out."

Seth looked at Mox, nodding that he could stay with the group. When the others had run off, the rest of the group, including Lance gathered at the center of the ring. "Is something wrong?" Mustafa asked.

"Nope," Sefa said. "In fact, everything might be just right. How would you three like to spend another two weeks training here?"

Raven, May, and Mustafa all looked at each other. "Well, yes, we would," May said, "But our parents and the flights and the money…"

"That's all taken care of," Sefa said. "I talked to your folks this morning and they gave permission for all three of you. And it looks like they were able to change the flights, too. I didn't want to say anything until I knew it was all right with your folks. And the second two weeks are on the camp. Consider it a _scholarship_, like I gave Seth."

"It gives two more weeks, four more shows to get through the storyline," Raven said, her eyes glowing with excitement as if the thought of another two weeks had lit and inner fire inside of her. "This is awesome, I mean, yes, I would love another two weeks!"

Mustafa and May said nothing, but nodded eagerly.

"Mustafa, you'll stay in the cabins with the next batch of campers we have, along with Seth," Sefa explained, "It's an all male session, so I hope you girls don't mind sharing a bed because we're going to put the both of you up at the house in Lance's room. He's got a double bed."

"Oh, is it fair to deny Lance his room?" May asked, looking worriedly from Sefa to Lance.

"Nope," Lance said, shaking his head. "We'll just put a cot in Roman and Mox's room. I don't mind at all."

"And seeing that you'll be the only female overnighters, you'll take your meals in the house with the family," Sefa said. "_And_, since the four of you who are staying, are all going to be the only teens and all part of the same storyline, all of you will take meals together in the house. Does that sound good?"

"It _better,_" Mox said, before he could stop himself. "Mom's an excellent cook."

"The food served in the mess hall isn't bad at all, very good for high volume production. But having some home cooked food sounds _wonderful._" Mustafa said, diplomatically.

Sefa nodded. "I'm taking a big risk with you," he admitted. "You three are as green as the grass in Ireland and Seth isn't exactly oozing with experience, either. And I'm dumping a whole lot on your shoulders. All I'm going to say is, please don't let me down. You will make mistakes, you will botch a few moves, but as long as you or your partner aren't seriously injured, we can deal with that. I just don't like calling parents to tell them their kid has a torn ligament or a dislocated shoulder because they either botched themselves or their partner screw it up."

The three kids looked at each other, then at Sefa. "Don't worry," Mustafa said, nodding. "We're going to do everything in our power to make this work and to keep ourselves and each other, safe."

"That's all I can ask for," Sefa said, nodding. "Now, go clean up and grab something to eat, before those other pigs called campers snarf up the good stuff."

All three nodded, almost as if in unison, and started hurrying off. "Hey!" Sefa called after them, "Don't forget to think of what you want to call your faction!"

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** So, all the "important" kids are going to be there for four weeks. Lucky them. :D Thanks to everyone who is reading this, favoring and/or following it, and especially those who take the time to leave a review, I really do appreciate it.


	6. Chapter 6

I found out last night that my cat likes fermented pickles. She won't eat any other human food, and looks at you as if you're crazy if you offer it to her, but she stole a fermented pickle off my plate and dragged it off like it was her kill.

She's strange, but I love her.

* * *

.

**Chapter Six**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The first Friday night show opened with two promos back to back. The first one was the one where Mox had been made a member of the family, which had been up on the web site and in the file share sites for five days. The second was the one they had filmed Wednesday. It was uploaded that morning, so most folks hadn't had a chance to see it.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"_Son, we need to find you a tag team partner," Nathan/Sefa said, putting his hand on Mox's shoulder._

"_I know," Mox said, nodding. They were in some backstage hallway together. He was wearing his ring gear, along with the MOX painted coat he wore down to the ring. Roman, Sefa, and Marc were there, looking all business, in dark suits and pristine white shirts. "But how? Every time I try to talk to someone, they get nervous and run off." _

"_That's because they're wimps," Nathan said, confidently. "But we have a new group of wrestlers. _Someone_ will volunteer to tag up with you. They can't _all_ be stupid." And with that, he pushed open the door into the locker room with such force that it slammed against the wall. The four of them walked into the center of the locker room. _

"_Maggots!" Nathan called out, and everyone in the locker room but one person froze, looking at the four of them with looks that ranged from extremely concerned, to downright panicked. The person who didn't freeze, had his back to everyone, rummaging around in a locker, white earbuds visible, his head moving in time to whatever music he was listening to. _

_Satisfied that he had the attention of almost everyone, Nathan drew himself to his full height, along with Roman, Marc, and Mox. "Today, you are getting a golden opportunity," he said. "We need to work on having a decent tag team division around here, so we need to make some tag teams." _

_Several of the guys looked away from Nathan, and to each other, instead. A few nodded as if the idea of having a tag team division would be a great thing._

"_So, we'll be working on teaming you up together at some point," Nathan said. "But first, I promised Mox he could be in the division, so we need to find him a partner. Someone good. Who thinks they can measure up?" _

_As if someone had flipped a switch, everyone in the locker room came instantly to life and began running for the door. "Not me!" Joey Machete called out as he fought the crowd who was fighting to get out of the exit as fast as possible, trying to cram each other through the door. "I suck, remember?" _

"_No way!" another called out. "Mox'll kill anyone tagging with him if they lose!" _

"_Mox'll kill _any_ partner he has, just because he's that crazy!" said a third person, as he shoved against the wall of wrestlers to get them out the door. "It doesn't matter if they win or not!"_

_In seconds, the locker room was clear with the exception of The Reigns Family, and the guy with the headphones, who apparently had his music up too loud and thus was oblivious to everything. He was arranging things in his locker and bopping his head to the beat. _

_Nathan looked at the kid by his locker, then looked at Mox and smiled. "I think you found your tag team partner." _

_Marc and Roman looked at each other and nodded, smiling. Mox stared at the kid with the headphones, and a slow smile, one more of cruelty and amusement, rather than happiness, spread across his face. He didn't look like a person finding someone to work with, he looked like a stray dog staring at a particularly weak and tasty looking rabbit. He marched over to the kid and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey!" _

_The young man whirled around, trying to pull his earphones out of his ears. His eyes widened when he realized he was alone in the locker room with the Reigns family, including that crazy Mox guy who they'd adopted into their clan. "Uh," he stammered, fumbling with the earphones. looking exactly like a human version of the scared rabbit Mox had seen. "Y-yes?" he stammered. _

"_I need a tag team partner," Mox said. "Congratulations, it's you." _

"_Uh," the kid said, clearly stalling for time. "Well, uh, it's not that I'm not flattered, but-"_

"_You seem to think this is optional," Roman said, staring at the kid, his eyes cold. "We can assure you, it's not." _

"_I-I" the kid began, then he sighed, his shoulders slumping. _

"_What's your name?" Marc asked. _

"_S-Seth," the kid stammered. "Seth Rollins." _

"_Welcome to the family, Seth," Nathan said, putting his hand on Seth's shoulder, squeezing it. _

"_Sir, I uh, already have a family," Seth stammered, wincing as Nathan's grip seemed to tighten on his shoulders._

"_Well then, now you have _two_ families." Nathan said. "And your loyalty better lie with __**this**__ one." _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Noella called out in her ring announcer voice. "Accompanied to the ring, by the CEO, Marc Reigns, the owner of the Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy, _Nathan Reigns_!"

The driving beat of Judas Priest, _You've Got Another Thing Comin'_, began playing and Nathan/Sefa, wearing the same suit he'd worn in the video, headed to the ring. Walking next to him, wearing his usual dress slacks and blue oxford shirt was Marc.

In the center of the ring were two tables, each with a black cloth over it. Lumps in the fabric showed that the cloth wasn't just a tablecloth, they were covering something. The crowd reacted with a combination of boos and cheers as if, not quite sure if Nathan was a good guy or a bad guy. Marc was a bad guy, that had pretty much been established. But Nathan was rarely seen, especially in the shows. And until recently, the few promos he was in, he played the tough, but fair owner. Now he was acting like SPWA was the headquarters of the Samoan Mafia and he was the Polynesian Godfather.

When they were at the ring, Marc held open the ropes so Nathan could step inside. When he did, he walked over to one of the covered tables where three microphones were. When Marc came over, he handed him one of the microphones. Bringing his own up to his lips he called out to the crowd, "Welcome, everyone, to Friday Night at the _Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy!"_

That was something the crowd could agree on, so the cheering rang out. The place was filled to standing room only. Considering this was the first time they had done a Friday night show, it was a good sign. And Sefa/Nathan knew a lot were drawn by the storyline. He'd been worried that when Mox joined the family, deciding to throw his alliance in with his one time nemesis, Roman, that the crowd might feel betrayed. Instead, they seemed to be enjoying the idea, or at least willing to see how it all played out.

"We have some big announcements tonight," Nathan continued. "First, I need to call my son, and the _SPWA Champion_ out here." He looked at the top of the ramp.

The audience began booing immediately, waiting for "Whatta Man" to start playing and for Roman to come out in the suit, with the babe on each arm. Instead, Black Sabbath, _Mob Rules,_ played and when Roman appeared, he was wearing military style fatigue pants in a color that danced the line between charcoal gray and black. He had a matching vest made of the same material, with a T-shirt under it, that was a deep, inky black. He wore black, Doc Martin style footwear. He didn't stroll to the ring as he had been doing, he walked to the ring briskly, eyes forward, not even giving anyone in the audience a second glance.

The more observant of the audience noticed he was not wearing the belt he had won from Mox and wondered why. He climbed up and into the ring, then went to step by his brother Mark. His posture was ramrod straight and he positioned his legs, slightly apart, his arms and elbows in perfect 90 degree angles, his hands clasped behind his back.

The audience was strangely quiet at this transformation, not sure what it meant. It was a lot less arrogant than his former attitude and attire, but it also made him look a lot more interested in kicking ass than being the good-looking playboy.

"Thanks to people like my sons, Roman and Marc," Nathan began, then paused so people could properly boo, "And others, such as Mox," another pause, this time to let the audience cheer, even though the previous promo had some wondering. Nathan continued to mention several wrestlers in the back, most of them regular members of the camp. The audience reacted to the names, positively for the most part. "The SPWA has gone from a two bit operation to a _real_ promotion, one that rivals such names as _CZW_, _ROH_, and even the _WWF!"_ If this has been a fairy tale world, no doubt his nose would have grown to huge proportions, but the audience still cheered, willing to pretend he wasn't full of it. "And, as a result of this success, we should no longer have second hand things! We are a _serious_ promotion, we deserve to give our talent _serious_ awards. He picked up the last microphone on the one table, and handed it to Roman. Roman changed his position to hands at his sides, microphone in his right hand.

With a flourish, Nathan grabbed the cloth and pulled it off the one table, showing a Samoan Pride Champion belt, gleaming in the light that shone on it. It was actually the same belt that they had been using, but Sefa had ordered new plates made for it, that said "SPWA Champion" rather than just "champion." The side plates even had Roman's name on them. Lance had voluntarily polished the leather until from a few feet, you couldn't see that it was used. "For you, son!" Nathan said, as if offering his son the Hope Diamond.

Roman looked amazed for a moment, as if he was afraid something so wonderful would vanish into a puff of smoke any second. Then, he reached out and took the belt with his left hand, holding it above his head by the strap. "_I am the reigning, defending champion of the SPWA!"_ he shouted to the crowd. "_There is no greater wrestler in the world than me!" _

The audience looked up at the ramp for a moment, as if they were sure _Back in Black_ would start playing and Mox would burst out, but nothing happened. So, the audience decided to take matters into their own hands and booed Roman for his arrogance. Roman, for his part, looked as if it were impossible for him to care less. He sneered at the audience as if their dislike of him was a ringing endorsement for being someone special. Why should common, simple folks be able comprehend someone as great as him?

"And," Nathan continued. "Seeing that we're now one of the bigger promotions, we need more incentive, more ways for our wrestlers to prove ourselves, so tonight I announce that we will be forming the_ Samoan Pride Tag Team Division!"_

The audience roared their approval, while Nathan nodded. "And tonight, you folks will see the crowning of our first _tag team champions!" _

"But what good is having a tag team division if they have no belts to win?" Marc called out, as he whisked the cover off the second table, revealing two identical belts that looked like slightly smaller versions of the Championship belt, and contained silver plates instead of gold.

The audience roared their approval even harder and while they were, _Mob Rules_ played again and everyone looked at the ramp. Mox walked out, wearing the same outfit as Roman, minus the vest, instead wearing the coat he had been wearing, the black denim one with MOX spray painted on the back, holding a microphone in one hand. He started heading to the top of the ramp, then stopped, shook his head and went back to the entrance. He walked back stage as the audience quieted down, puzzled, then returned seconds later, dragging out a nervous, confused, and reluctant looking Seth, who was wearing the same pants and shoes as Roman and Mox, and the same vest as Roman, but no t-shirt.

Keeping one hand on Seth's upper arm, so he was practically dragging him to the ramp, Mox brought the mic he was holding to his mouth with the other. "My _best_ buddy Seth and I want to be the first to announce ourselves as contenders for the tag team title. And being the first to announce, shouldn't we just get the titles and let others try to take them from us?"

"Now, Mox, that isn't fair," Nathan said, as Mox climbed into the ring, still keeping a firm grip on Seth as if afraid if the grip on him was loosened, he would bolt like a scared rabbit. "You know that at the Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy, we are _always_, fair!"

The audience booed and Nathan pretended he didn't hear it. "So, I'd like to see _all_ of the folks backstage, who don't have a match tonight come out!"

Everyone looked towards the ramp, as a group of wrestlers came out. Included in the group were the members of the three other tag teams. The ones that had not been announced to the audience. They looked towards Nathan.

"You have a great opportunity here," Nathan Reigns proclaimed. "You have the chance to be on the ground floor of our new Tag Team Division!"

The group of wrestlers began looking at each other, then and clapping, looking as if they might welcome this chance, even if they weren't sure at all about fighting crazy Mox.

"I'm going to pick six of you to team up," Nathan said.

"Wait a moment," one of the wrestlers called out.

Nathan stared at the wrestler who had spoken and frowned. "Excuse me?" he asked. "And you are?"

"Mustafa!" The wrestler called out. "Mustafa Ali. And you shouldn't get to pick who tags together,_ we_ should do that. We know who we'll work best with."

"Mustafa," Nathan mused as if trying to remember something he might have heard about the young man. "Hm… when were you told your opinion mattered?"

"You let Mox pick!" Mustafa reminded him.

"That's different," Nathan said. "Mox is a former _champion_. He deserved the opportunity to pick his partner. You, however, are not a former champion, thus you barely deserve a chance to be on a tag team, and I might decide against that. So, why don't you shut up and mind your own business."

Mustafa looked ready to say something else, then wisely decided to keep his mouth shut.

"Who should our second tag team be?" Nathan said, looking at Marc. "We need wrestlers who will _challenge_ Seth and Mox, here."

Roman leaned over and whispered something in Marc's ear. Marc leaned over and whispered something into Nathan's ear causing him to smile.. "That's a good idea! Since Mox and Seth are now part of _our_ family, maybe we should bring _another_ family into this?" He looked to the ramp. "Our second tag team to be competing for the first championship? May and Raven Devany!"

May and Raven looked at each other, shrugged and stepped forward. "Congratulations, you'll be competing tonight," Nathan said.

Raven cracked her knuckles.

Roman and Mox both frowned as if maybe, just _maybe_, the Devany sisters weren't going to be as easy to defeat as they thought.

"Our next tag team will be…" Nathan paused for effect. "Sami Callihan and Alicia Fox!"

Sami and Alicia were standing on either side of the stage as if they might not have even seen each other before now. They gave each other the once over, then Alicia rolled her eyes and tossed her hair over her shoulder and said, "What_ever!"_ loud enough so everyone heard.

Nathan chose to ignore her impertinence. "And for our final group… hm, let me think. Well, since he seemed so _eager_ to offer his opinions, let's let Mustafa be on the final team."

Mustafa squared his shoulders and nodded.

"...and I'm going to team you up with… uh…. _Joey Machete!"_

Joey, who was standing a few folks away from Mustafa leaped up, doing the most awkward air punch you ever saw. "Yes!" he cried out, then ran over to Mustafa, who was looking shocked.

"Wait a moment," Mustafa began.

"Well, that's it. We have our four tag teams," Nathan said, ignoring Mustafa's protests. "You folks head to the back, you have until the Main Event to figure out how to be tag teams. I wouldn't waste any time if I were you."

Everyone began filing off the stage. Mustafa looked as if he would still like to object, but signed and walked offstage with Joey who was babbling, "This will be my first taste of victory, because I believe we can _win_ this!" He punched Mustafa on the arm, which didn't even make Mustafa look over at him. "The only thing you have to do, is to make sure I never face Mox. He'll _kill_ me. But _you_ can handle him, buddy!"

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

After the first match of the night, there was a promo of the six members of the three newly formed tag teams, sitting in the locker room together. There came a knock on the door and Sami got up to answer it.

As he opened the door, the camera focused briefly on a sign that said, "Tag team locker room" then pulled back to show Sami opening the door and someone in a blue and white outfit, complete with cap, holding one of those bags designed to keep pizza hot for delivery.. "Uh, Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins?" the delivery man asked.

"They aren't here," Sami said, brows furrowed as he looked at the bag. "Their room is up the hall."

"Oh, okay, sorry then." The delivery person walked away with the bag.

When Sami turned back to the group, most of them were looking a little surprised. "They get pizza?" Raven asked.

"I guess," Sami said, shrugging.

"All we get to eat at this place is that horrible crap they serve in the mess hall," Alicia grumbled, "But they get_ pizza?" _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The next promo was the same set up as the first. The tag teams in the room, when there was a knock up at the door. This time, Mustafa answered the door and there was a young man holding a case of sparkling grape juice. "I have a delivery for Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins?"

"Sorry, their room is down the hall," Mustafa said.

"Oh, okay, sorry."

"Sparkling grape juice?" May asked as Mustafa came back in.

"Yeah," Mustafa said. "Chilled and everything."

"Figures," Sami mumbled, "All we've had to drink since we got here was water."

"Lukewarm tap water," Joey said with a sigh.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

After every single match, there was another promo of the same variety. Every member of the three tag teams got the chance to answer the door and to instruct various delivery personnel that Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins were further up the hall. By the time the main event was getting ready to start, the group knew that Seth and Mox had pizza, sparkling grape juice, a bowl of jelly beans with all the black ones removed, a special HD widescreen monitor, two very fluffy, very soft looking black bathrobes with their names embroidered in gold on them, and finally, two beautiful young women each carrying a table, saying there were there to give Seth and Mox a massage. Raven was the person who answered the door on that one and the look she shot the two women was filled with contempt. "They're down the hall," she said, and shut the door.

She turned back to the other tag teams and frowned. "Call this a hunch," she said, "But I have my suspicions that all tag teams are _not_ being treated equally."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Noella announced, "The Following is a four way, tag team elimination for the SPWA Tag Team Championship!" She paused to give the audience a chance to cheer for the news, then continued. "Headed to the ring now, representing the _Citadel_, Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins!"

_Mob Rules_ began to play and the audience watched as Seth, Mox, and Roman came down the ramp together, the three of them looking very chummy. When they got to the ring, Roman put his hand out. Mox covered Roman's hand with his own and then after a moment of hesitation, Seth did the same. They brought their hands down, then raise them up together as high as they could, then separated and raised them over their heads in a fist. Roman stepped back so he was standing between the ring and the barricade. He shifted into that military-like position he'd held before, legs slightly separated, elbows bent at ninety degree angles, arms behind his back.

As Mox and Seth got into the ring, the music changed abruptly to Pat Benatar's _Hit Me With Your Best Shot._ "Second," Noella continued, "Is May and Raven, the _Devany Sisters!"_

Without much fanfare, the two dark haired girls came down the ramp together and got in the ring, going to the South East corner, the one that was diagonal to the corner Mox and Seth were using.

"Our third group," Noella continued, as _Hit Me With Your Best Shot _faded and the girls took their places. "Alicia Fox and Sami Callihan, _The Freak Squad!"_

Rob Zombie's _More Human than Human_ started playing and Sami and Alicia came out. Sami was wearing white makeup on his face, dark circles around his eyes, his lips painted with a black lipstick. Over his ring gear, he wore a "robe" that was made of a gray material that looked almost like something a ghost in an old black and white movie would wear. Alicia wore a black dress with a black, lace covering and sleeves, tiny black "seed pearl" beads sewn onto the lacey covering. A black lace veil covering her head and face, completed the outfit, making her look like some strange cross between a widow attending her late husband's funeral, and a bride with a taste for the Gothic. They swaggered to the ring with a mixture of arrogance and self confidence, and a sprinkling of insanity. As they headed to the northeast corner of the ring, walking by Mox and Seth, Alicia gave a toss of her hair and even though the veil covered her face, it wasn't hard to imagine she gave the two of them a look of utter contempt.

"And our fourth and final group," Noella said, as _More Human than Human _faded out, and Alicia and Sami began removing their costumes to reveal their ring gear. "Mustafa Ali and Joey Machete, _Rock Soldiers!"_

Ace Frehley's _Rock Soldiers_ began playing and Joey and Mustafa appeared at the top of the ramp. Mustafa stood straight, but his eyes were cast slightly downward as if he knew he was doomed. Joey was practically dancing alongside of him, raising his fist in the air and rushing to the side to try to high five with the audience. Most members of the audience refused, and the few that did, looked more as if they were attempting to amuse a clueless idiot than trying to offer support. Several of the younger, female audience, that had become regulars at these events, especially since Roman and Mox started competing, were giving Mustafa appreciative glances and ignoring Joey completely.

As they got into the ring, those closest to the southwest corner could hear Joey exclaiming in his high, nasally, ring voice, "See? I _told_ you we'd be great! We're gonna _win_, Mustafa, the audience _loves _us!"

Mustafa shot Joey a glance that clearly said he believed Mr. Machete was way too optimistic about both their chance at victory, and their popularity with the crowd. But they took their place.

The Referee was holding the championship belts, which he brought around for each team to approve of, as if someone might have tried to replace them with fakes. When every group approved, he handed them to Lance, who brought them to the timekeepers area for safekeeping. Mox and Raven were in the ring to start the fight. Slowly, eyeing each other like two dogs heading for the same piece of meat, they walked towards the center where the referee told them that this was to be a fair fight. Then he made the motion and the bell was rung.

Raven and Mox began circling each other, both with their hands raised bringing them towards each other, as if they wanted to clasp them together, yet were reluctant, too. Finally Mox grabbed Raven's hand, and jerked her so fast towards him, and kneed her in the gut. She let out an "oof!" and fell to her knees. Instead of attacking her, as everyone expected, Mox ran to the corner and tagged in Joey Machete, then ran over to his corner and got behind the ropes.

Joey looked shocked at being tagged in, but straightened himself up and headed towards Raven, who was still bent over looking as if she were trying as hard as she could to get her breath. When he got about six feet away from her, Joey lunged forward, kneeing her in the face and then danced away, raising his arms triumphantly over his head as if he'd already won. He gave Mustafa a smug look as if to say, "See? And you doubted me!" Then he headed back to Raven, who had fallen onto her back. Doing a quick, jerky, dance around her first, Joey fell to the ground and attempted to pin her. The ref barely got to the ground to begin counting when Raven rolled her shoulders and pushed Joey off of her with such force that he flew backwards falling onto his butt. As Raven rolled easily to her feet, Joey began to crab walk backwards, attempting to head to another corner to tag someone else in. Raven advanced on him, grabbing him by the arm, and hauling him to his feet, where she them proceeded to pour blows down upon him, to the point where the referee came over and tried to break them apart. Raven shot a look of anger at the Ref, then grabbed Joey, flung him onto her shoulders, and slammed him forward to the ground, and flipping forward and over him.

Joey sprawled out on the mat. They were near the northeast corner, a fact that Raven seemed to be forgetting, until Alicia slapped her on the shoulder, none too gentle, to tag herself in. Raven whirled around angrily and the two of them exchanged words as the referee motioned Raven to return to her corner.

Meanwhile, Joey had come to his senses and ran over and first tried to tag Mox or Seth, who both jumped off the edge of the ring. With a panicked expression, he hurried over to the southwest corner and tagged Mustafa in.

Instead of climbing into the ring, Mustafa climbed to the top rope as Alicia came running. When she was close enough, he did a flying leap off the rope, sending Alicia flying backwards onto the mat. Alicia rolled over several times, which brought her near her and Sami's home corner, but not close enough for Sami to tag himself in. She stumbled to her feet, looking dazed as Mustafa advanced on her. She looked confused enough that it would be an easy fall and pin for Mustafa, but at the last moment, all confusion left her and she leaped in the air, kicking Mustafa in the stomach. As he folded over, she flew backwards into the ring post. Sami tagged himself in and Alicia was more than happy to go to the ring apron and rest for a bit.

Sami charged Mustafa, and the fight continued, the two of them exchanging moves rapidly. Sami's style was more brutal than Mustafa's, but Mustafa had speed to his advantage and he used it. Both of them attempted to pin the other, unsuccessfully, until Mustafa was able to make it to the northwest corner, where Mox and Seth had finally gotten on the ring apron. Before he could jump off again, Mustafa managed to tag Seth.

Angry that Mustafa had left the ring, Sami made like he was rushing towards Seth, then at the last minute, veered off and tagged in Joey.

Mustafa, meanwhile, had rolled out of the ring, onto the floor. As he struggled to his feet, Roman came up behind him and slammed him into the metal stairs. Mustafa slid off the stairs and lay crumpled on the floor.

While Roman went after Mustafa, Seth went after Joey, dragging him into the middle of the ring. Joey kept scrambling to get away from him, but Seth quickly put him into a crucifix armbar that had him tapping out almost instantly. As the referee ordered Seth and Joey to break apart, so Joey could leave the ring, Raven and Alicia both leaped in at the same time, but Raven made it over to Seth first, as he had just let Joey roll out of the ring and, and did a superkick to his head. Alicia tried to interfere and there was a bit of a free-for-all, with Mox, Raven, and Sami entering the ring to defend their partner. The audience roared as for several minutes, kicks and punches fell and chaos ruled the ring. The referee went around yelling at everyone.

"Team Rock Soldiers has been eliminated!" Noella shouted, as Mustafa and Joey staggered up the ramp, where a couple of "guards" (students wearing blue pants and lighter blue shirts) came down to help them backstage.

When the free-for-all in the ring was broken apart, it was Seth and Raven. The two of them exchanged blows, then, Raven charged him, pushing him into the northeast corner. As Raven advanced, no doubt to pull him into the center of the ring and try to pin him, Seth managed to twist and tag Alicia, who jumped into the ring, letting out a war whoop, ran and leaped onto Raven, knocking her to the ground and punching her over and over, until Raven rolled on her stomach. Then, Alicia grabbed the long, single braid running down Raven's back, wrapped it around her hand until it looked as if she was trying to rip it off of her skull. She used it as leverage to slam Raven't face into the mat, over and over again.

They were close to the south rope and the referee had all his attention on Alicia, screaming that she had to let go of Raven's hair. May ran over and grabbed Raven's foot, putting it onto the rope before the referee could see, then stepped back and pointed, screaming at the ref. The ref saw Raven's foot on the rope and screamed something at Alicia, that if someone was skilled enough to read lips, they would realize that he was telling Alicia if she didn't break it up right this second, she and her team would be disqualified. Giving Raven's head one more angry slam into the mat, Alicia released her hair and jumped to her feet, arms up in the classic, "I've stopped, I'm a good girl!" pose. The ref yelled at her, allowing Raven to stagger to her feet. May returned to her corner, holding out her hand as far as she could, so Raven could tag her in.

Raven ignored the chance to rest, instead shaking her head to clear it, then she narrowed her eyes and charged Alicia, who was still talking to the referee. She speared Alicia, sending both of them flying back. Raven landed on top of her, and began wailing on Alicia, as viciously as Alicia had wailed on her. The referee came over to yell at Raven, who backed off quicker than Alicia did, doing the same "arms up" pose. The referee turned his attention to Alicia to make sure she was all right. Raven used the opportunity to climb to the top rope, behind Alicia. When the referee backed off, Alicia turned around, just as Raven soared from the top rope, slamming Alicia into the mat with a five star splash.

"Bird of Prey!" Calico, acting as the main commentary announced. "Raven just did _Bird of Prey!"_

Alicia's body went limp and Raven went for the pin. The referee slid over to them and banged on the mat. "One! Two!" There was a moment of hesitation and the audience held their breath, waiting for Alicia to roll her shoulder. She didn't. "Three!" The referee shouted.

"The Freak Squad has been eliminated!" Noella called out. "The final two teams are Jon Moxley and Seth Rollins of the Citadel and May and Raven, the Devany sisters!"

The audience cheered as Sami and Alicia headed to the back. Just like Mustafa and Joey, "security" came to help them.

Raven glared at the corner where Mox was climbing into the ring. The look on Mox's face was narrow eyed and mean, as if he couldn't _wait_ to get his hands on Raven. She glared right back as if she might charge him, and then seemed to think better of it. She rushed to her corner and tagged May in.

Except for the free-for-all, Mox had only been in the ring for a brief time at the start, and May hadn't been in at all, so the audience cheered loudly, knowing the two were about as fresh as possible. They headed to the center of the ring and then began to warily circle each other, much as Mox and Raven had at the start of the match. This time, however, May wasn't going to wait around for any niceties. She grabbed Mox's arm, pulled him so close to her, that they could have kissed, but instead of showing affection, she brought her leg up and slammed it into his thigh.

Some of the audience who didn't have the complete view, thought May had gone for a low blow and let out a long "Oooooh!" noise, as if feeling Mox's pain. Those members were also impressed that Mox barely seemed to be bothered by this, and instead, grabbed May's arm and twisted around with it, so he was standing behind her, her own arm wrapped around her neck and pulling.

May struggled and the referee came over to watch. She brought her one hand up, trying to pull her own arm out of Mox's grasp. After a few seconds of that, she seemed to realize it was futile. Mox had wrapped one of his arms around her waist, obviously trying to hold her firmer. She grabbed onto his arm and squeezed. As Mox tried to shake her hand off, He loosened his grip on the arm that May had around her own throat. May gasped and leaned forward as far as she could, then reared back. She and Mox barely avoided smashing their heads together, something absolutely forbidden in the SPWA teen matches, but she had managed to keep her head forward, so instead her back crashed into his chest. Shocked at the blow, Mox stepped backwards, which allowed May to twist around and attack him, landing several punches. Mox almost ran backwards, into the ropes, then did a rebound lariat, ending in a clothesline that sent May to the ground.

Back and forth they went, each of them barely getting the upper hand, until the other countered it and came back swinging. Mox fought May into the Southwest corner, slamming her back into the turnbuckle. She gasped and slid down, breathing hard.

Mox walked away from her slowly, a sly grin and a look of triumph on his face. When he was almost at the northeast corner of the ring, he ran towards her, head down, attempting to spear her into the turnbuckle.

At the last second, May leaped out of the way, and Mox smashed his shoulder into the ring post. A look of agony crossed his face. May got behind him, and before he could get himself together, began beating on him.

Very few people in the audience noticed that Roman had walked around the ring and was standing close to Raven, who seemed recovered from her earlier fighting and was screaming at her sister, holding her arm out, showing she was there, if May needed a break.

Then, the person doing color for the faces, a kid named Logan Shulo called out, "What is Roman doing over by Raven?"

"He probably wants to just congratulate her for her sportsmanship," the color for the heels. Jezabel James said. She had the look of a sexy goth about her, wearing a corset, with short, black and red hair.

Raven didn't notice. Didn't hear him coming up on her, didn't realize he was on her, until he grabbed her, pulling her off the ring apron and throwing her into the barricade. She thudded against it, and fell to the floor in an ungraceful heap of flesh and bones, not moving. "That's _twice_ Roman has interfered!" Logan protested.

"Of course he did!" Jezabel said. "His _legacy_ is at stake here!"

Meanwhile, May had managed to beat Mox into the ground, not giving him a chance to get himself together, just keeping the punches coming, until Mox finally closed his eyes and his body seemed to lose all its strength, appearing to be almost, if not completely unconscious. May finally got off of him, and dragged him into the southwest corner. Then she climbed to the top rope. The elastic that had held those thousands of tiny braids she wore back, had somehow gone missing, and she shook her head as she grabbed onto the top rope, in a crouch position, making those tiny braids fly about.

Seth began screaming, to the referee that he wasn't doing his job, throwing in enough colorful insults that the referee became distracted and ran over to yell at him, threatening to have him disqualified and the whole match scrapped if he didn't shut up and show some proper respect.

"I think she's going to go for the _May Day!"_ Calico called out.

The audience waited to see what finisher move she would deliver. May had already proven in the time she had been fighting Mox that she had a lot of flexibility and balance, and those who had bought the program ("Only fifteen ninety-nine at the concession stand!") had read about her rather amazing gymnastics abilities, or at least were able to see a few pictures Lance had found of her on the internet, performing complicated gymnastic moves. They were excited to see what she would do with all that skill. Surely this would be a finisher to remember!

The audience was so focused on May, that almost nobody saw Roman rush over and just as May was about to rise to her feet on the top rope, Roman reached up and grabbed her right foot, yanking it from the rope, causing her to lose her balance.

May and Roman had practiced this move over and over again, without a hitch. May was supposed to fall forward and bring her arms out to prevent her from smashing head first into the post, and then spring herself off the floor and land on her back, almost as if doing a face bump, but from much higher. But something went wrong and she didn't get her right arm down fast enough, causing her left arm to barely graze the floor which made her smack her face into the ring post. Roman heard the sound of bone on mental and winced, instantly terrified that May had been knocked out, but then he saw her legs kick out, over her head, allowing her to fall onto her back.

Roman forced himself to look at her face and to his horror, he saw blood not just oozing, but _pouring_ out of her nose. He jumped in the ring, as he was supposed to, but knelt down. "May!"

"Don't you _dare_ fuck this up," May growled under her breath, so only he could hear her but spraying blood as she spoke. "I'm fine, _finish it!" _

Roman hesitated, but then grabbed her leg and dragged her to the center of the ring. Mox had meanwhile, rolled out of the way, but still looked as if he was barely able to move. Roman ran over, grabbed Mox and dragged him over, pulling him onto May.

Seth stopped insulting the referee, and as Roman slipped out of the ring, he began pointing to where Mox lay on top of May, yelling for him to do his job. The referee turned and saw and ran over, sliding on his knees for the last couple feet and began slamming his hand on the mat. "One! Two! _Three!"_

The bell rang.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Noella called out as she got into the ring, "your winners and the first ever SPWA Tag Team Champions, _Jon Moxley _and _Seth Rollins _of the _Citadel!"_

Lance, who had been sitting in the timekeeper area, grabbed the belts and brought them over to the referee. Seth had leapt into the ring, and he, Mox, and Roman were hugging each other in victory. Roman took off his own champion belt and as Seth and Mox got their belts, the three of them each held theirs high above their heads, shaking them.

And everyone was doing their best not to look at May, who had managed to roll out of the ring, leaving a bloody trail in her wake.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Yes, we have a lot of ring action in this chapter. There is a fair amount in the story, too. And yeah, Roman, Seth, and Mox have not formed The Shield. I figured that would be way too coincidental. And, The Citadel just works for them.

Thank you for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it.


	7. Chapter 7

Q: Why shouldn't you write with a broken pencil?

A: Because it's pointless!

(You folks realize I just write this stupid stuff to make the chapter title center correctly, right?)

* * *

.

**Chapter Seven**

{o}{o}{o}

.

"Please, give me _one good reason_ why I shouldn't ground you _until the day you leave for college!_" Sefa shouted.

Roman cringed but said nothing. The show was over and they were backstage. Jen was there, checking out May's nose, which has stopped gushing, but had yet to completely stop bleeding. She had her head tipped back and Jen was pinching the bridge of her nose, attempting to get it to stop. May was wincing, the only signs of pain she was showing. Every once in awhile, she motioned for Jen to move her hand, so she could lean over and spit blood into a small plastic container she was holding.

Mox, Raven and all the members of the tag teams were gathered around. A few other students attempted to join them, but were ordered to "go do something," by Sefa.

"Dad," Mox began.

"-Did you know this was what they planned?" Sefa interrupted to bark at him.

Mox shrugged, trying to look as if he wasn't at all nervous and almost succeeding. . "Sort of, I mean, I saw them practice it a dozen times, and they had it perfect _every_ time."

"You are _not_ helping your brother's case!" Sefa said. "Why didn't you _tell_ me? You know the rules, no overly risky moves for the teens."

"Because it looked really cool?" Mox suggested. "And because May has the skills to pull it off?"

"Obviously, she _didn't!"_ Sefa snapped. He looked about ready to start doing some serious screaming, when Lance came running up with a bag of ice, which he handed to his mother.

"This is going to feel cold," Jen said, as she placed the ice pack on May's face. May barely seemed to register that it was put on her face, as if whatever discomfort the ice caused was nothing.

"How is she?" Sefa asked, still scowling.

"I don't think her nose is broken," Jen said. "If you want to take her to the emergency room, just to be sure, I understand. There is some swelling which makes it hard for me to tell completely."

May reached up, held onto the ice pack and then sat up, leaning over and spitting another mouthful of blood and saliva. This time, it was more pink than red, indicating the bleeding was stopping. "It's not broken," she said firmly.

"Oh?" Sefa looked at her, one brow raised. "And when did _you_ get your medical degree?"

"I haven't," May said flatly. "But I _have_ had my nose broken, three times, I _know_ what it feels like and this isn't it."

Raven nodded in agreement. "The first time she was at a state gymnastics meet, she smashed her face into the top of the uneven bars. It was like someone started a blood fountain and she fell to the floor because her fingers slid on the stuff. Probably the poorest numbers she ever scored. It was _so_ gross it was _awesome._"

May glared at her sister, then looked at Sefa. "She's right. _Disgusting_, but right. I've broken my nose three times, I've cracked a cheekbone, fractured an ankle and broken my wrists four times, three on the left, one on the right. And I've broken fingers and toes more times than I can count or remember."

"Well, that ability to take pain will keep you going if you become a wrestler," Sefa concluded. "But your parents entrusted me to keep you safe and this is _not_ safe!"

"_Call _them!" Raven suggested, "_Tell_ them what happened! Sure, Mom will ask if she's okay, she's _mom_, but I'll bet you fifty bucks she'll shrug it off! There are _eight_ kids in the family, everyone at the local emergency room knows all of us by first name! One of us is _always _getting banged up. This is nothing, trust me!"

Sefa looked at Raven, eyes narrowed, but finally sighed. "I didn't know gymnastics was that rough," he finally said.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Her _forte_ is the uneven parallel bars. We're talking she likes to smash her pelvis into a frozen theater rope, at eighty miles an hour. Heck, I do martial arts, and _I_ even wince when I see her doing that."

May shot another look at her sister as if she might be sharing a little too much information, but looked back to Sefa. "Everyone thinks it's just flipping and dancing around, but yeah, gymnastics can be brutal." She spit out another disgusting mouthful of liquid, this one a little pinker, showing the bleeding really had almost stopped. Her talking was getting more normal too, instead of the clogged, gurgled speech she had been doing earlier. But her eyes were starting to puff up and it was obvious she was going to have one, if not two black eyes the next day.

Roman looked over at May with a grateful expression on his face, which unfortunately, Sefa caught and glared at him. "This does _not_ let you off the hook!" he snapped. "You're an _instructor,_ you should have known not to do this!"

"_I _talked him into it," May said. "_I'm_ more to blame than he is!"

"No," Roman said, speaking firmly and for the first time since they had come backstage. "I _let_ you talk me into it. I appreciate the support, May, but I am a member of the family and this is _our_ camp. I shouldn't have let you talk me into it."

"Why not?" Mox asked. "It was _cool!"_ He looked at May, "My first match in front of an audience was a ladder match, and I got my scalp split open! It was awesome!"

"I saw that video!" Raven exclaimed with equal enthusiasm. "I downloaded it to my computer and I _still_ have it on there! That was _so_ awesome, you bled _everywhere!_"

"I needed a _bunch_ of stitches," Mox bragged, looking at Raven with a grin. "We had to scrub the canvas on the mat with cold water and bleach to get the stain out!"

Raven whistled in admiration and appreciation.

Sefa shook his head. "That's enough!" he said, his voice calmer, but still firm. "This might be a case of all's well that ends well, but the fact remains, rules were _broken." _

"I know," Roman said and May stared at her feet. "What is going to happen to us?"

Sefa thought. "Neither of you will be in tomorrow night's performance," he finally said.

"But we're supposed to fight-" Raven began, then stopped as Sefa glared at her, obviously displeased. She closed her mouth, leaving the rest of her words unspoken.

"Instead of fighting against Joey and Mustafa tomorrow, May, you and Roman are going to work the concession stand."

May's eyes widened, but she said nothing. Roman let out a sigh. Mox, however, wasn't going to let it go. "Dad, we're the _Citadel_, we're a _faction!"_ he protested. "You can't banish Roman to the concession stand!"

"Oh really? _Watch _me," Sefa said, glaring at Mox. "The rules are in place for a reason and I expect all of you to follow them and the rule is that risky moves are to be approved by me if being performed by anyone under the age of 18. That was _not_ an approved move."

"Then the show is ruined," Raven said, almost mournfully.

Sefa shook his head. "No, it's not, we've just got to figure a few things out."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," Noella called out. "Welcome to SPWA _Saturday Night!_" She was wearing a skin tight red dress. "I'm Noella, your ring announcer!" Between the dress and her constant appearance at the shows, she got a good round of applause, which was one of the reasons they always used her, instead of letting one of the teens do it. She smiled, but didn't appear to bask in the glory, and continued.

"And coming down the ramp, are the SPWA commentary team for this evening, Adam Cole, Calico Jack, and Pac!"

Because the teen sessions were only two weeks long, and thus had few shows, almost every role that could be filled by a young wrestler was, to give as many of the students a possible a chance to have to work in front of a live audience, which included color commentary. However, because it wasn't uncommon for a kid to freeze up the first time, Sefa always made sure Calico or another experienced wrestler was in the main spot, ready to cover up for nerves.

Calico Jack came out between Adam and Pac, wearing the full garb pirate wrestling gear he used to wear to the ring, right down to the three cornered hat, complete with ostrich feathers, that he removed from his head and put on the table. He took the middle seat, giving a brief nod and wave to the audience.

Adam Cole, the youngest person in the camp, besides Lance, took the longest to sit down, waving frantically at everyone, as if the energy from the audience was pure caffeine and he was determined to take in as much as possible. He was grinning ear to ear, and it appeared that instead of freezing up, he might be more inclined to babble.

Pac, sitting on the other side of Calico Jack wasn't smiling, he was scowling, arms folded over his chest, looking for all the world like an angry elf. He too looked as if freezing up wouldn't be a problem. Disdain for everyone present seemed to roll off of him in waves. Pac, was one of the three teens who had come from overseas for this session and called the UK home.

Calico tapped on the mic in front of him, making sure it was working. The echo of the tap came through the speaker system. Satisfied, he nodded and looked to the ring. "Thank you, Noella. She rewarded him with a brilliant smile. "Ladies and gentlemen," Calico continued, "All of you who were here yesterday probably know, something terrible happened last night. But for those of you who weren't here? Take a look at the screen and we'll catch you up."

While the SPWA did not have the huge titantrons that the WWF had, they did have a similar older technology, the video wall. Everyone looked to as footage from the show the night before began playing. "Last night, we had a fatal four way match to determine the SPWA champions. The team of Mustafa Ali and Joey Machete, Rock Soldiers, were the first to be eliminated-"

"Not surprising," Pac almost growled into his microphone. "Machete is a nuisance."

"Yeah, but he tries _so_ hard," Adam said.

"_Trying_ isn't worth _anything_," Pac said. "Nobody cares if you _try_, they only care if you _win_."

"Sami Callihan and Alicia Fox, the Freak Squad, were the second team to be eliminated," Calico Jack continued as the screen changed to show Raven climbing the ropes as Alicia lay on the ground.

"Watch this!" Adam called excitedly. "You're going to get to see Raven's finisher, the _Bird of Prey _and it's spectacular!"

Pac gave an irritated snort and shrugged, as if Raven's shooting star press was of no great importance. It wasn't that far-fetched either, in high flying moves, he was up there as May's equal, and might have been in her place if he'd been willing to take a little more risk when he was showing Sefa what he could do.

The screen showed more of the fight between The Citadel and The Devany Sisters, but only the highlights, until May began climbing the ropes. "Now, we were about to see the _May Day,_ when this happened," Calico said.

The audience watched as Roman went over and grabbed May's foot. The camera cut to slow motion as May fell forward and smashed her face into the ring post. The audio had been augmented so that as she smashed her face, a horrible crunching and ringing sound filled the arena and people gasped. Soon, everyone who had been here the night before (which was most of the audience) would swear to their maker that yeah, they had heard that noise as it happened, but it was even _louder._

"I don't _care_ if Roman is the owners son," Adam said, looking very indignant. "He had no right to do that! None at all!"

"What do _you_ know, you little pest," Pac said. "Family is _sacred_ and Roman knows it."

"That's not sacred!" Adam protested. "That's _cheating._"

"It's only cheating if you get _caught,"_ Pac said. "The referee didn't see it."

Calico's gaze strayed to the sides, giving both Pac and Adam a look of frustration. "May was rushed to the local Emergency Care Clinic, where fortunately, it was discovered her nose was _not_ broken, but the owner of the SPWA, Nathan Reigns, is still very concerned about this, and will be addressing this issue ton-"

_You've Got Another Thing Coming_ began to play, interrupting Calico, then Nathan and Marc appeared at the end of the ramp. They both hurried to the ring, Marc first so he could hold the ropes open for his father. Sefa/Nathan strode into the ring.

"He acts like he _owns_ the place," Adam complained.

You didn't need to see Pac's eye-roll, you could hear it as he spoke, "he _does _own the place, you idiot!"

Marc scurried to the other end of the ring and leaned down so Lance could hand him two microphones. He then hurried over and handed one to Nathan who snatched it from him, and brought it to his mouth.

"I want the Citadel out here, _now_," he said, his voice firm. He looked up at the ramp as if expecting Roman, Mox, and Seth to instantly appear. Instead, at least ten seconds of silence followed, which did nothing for Nathan's mood. His nostrils flared and he started to bring the microphone back up to speak into it. At that moment, _Mob Rules_ began to play. Nathan again looked expectantly. Another five seconds or so passed and Mox, Roman and Seth came out in their ring gear, wearing their belts around their waists. Roman and Seth marched to the ring with military precision. Mox looked as if he was trying to walk the same way, but having trouble, then, he shrugged and decided to walk in an easy stride. Unlike Roman and Seth, who looked as if under all that calm, they might be a little bit nervous, Mox looked as if he was the happiest guy on the planet.

"Roman doesn't look at _all_ sorry," Adam said with a sniff.

Pac did not say a word, but anyone looking towards the table would have seen him shooting him a look that suggested maybe Adam was only thirteen, but as far as Pac was concerned, he had lived _far_ too long.

The Citadel came into the ring and stood in front of Nathan. Marc fetched all of them microphones and handed them out.

"Well," Nathan said, "What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"About what?" Mox asked, as Roman started to open his mouth.

Nathan shot him a dark look. "About last night."

"What about last night?" Mox sounded positively chipper. "We won! Seth and I are tag team champions!" He motioned proudly to his belt. "The Citadel rules this place!"

Nathan's eyes narrowed. "I mean about what happened to _May!"_

"Oh!" Mox nodded. "I get it now. And, I guess I'd say 'oops!'" The majority of the audience let out a laugh at this.

Nathan's face turned red, but when he spoke, his voice was firm, but calm. "Mox, shut up."

Mox shrugged,but said nothing. The audience booed.

"I _should_ take your belts away," Nathan said. "Have your match disqualified and have you earn it all over again."

"No way!" Mox began, "That's no-"

"-_But,_" Nathan interrupted, "You and _Seth_ did nothing wrong. And I am sure you had _no_ idea what Roman planned."

The crowd booed again. Nathan looked out at them briefly his expression suggesting that everyone needed to shut up. The crowd booed even louder. "So, you don't deserve to be punished," Nathan said, raising his voice to be heard above the booing.

His words, of course, did nothing to stop the booing.

"He's right," Pac said. "You can't blame Mox and Seth for something their brother did."

"I'm sure they knew-" Adam began.

"-Nothing," Pac swiftly interrupted. "They knew _nothing. _Roman was obviously acting out of concern for his brothers, but he wasn't going to tell them about it. It was a spur of the moment thing."

"But, something needs to be-" Nathan started to say, but this time was interrupted by _Hit Me With Your Best Shot_, blaring through the speakers. The crowd cheered and Nathan looked towards the top of the ramp angrily as Raven came out, looking as if Nathan had personally pissed in her Wheaties that morning. She didn't stand at the top of the ramp, she ran down instead, leaped and slid into the ring.

As she stood up, she walked over to Marc and snatched the microphone out of his hands. Marc looked shocked, but before he could object, she walked over to Nathan. "Are you _serious?"_ she demanded of Nathan. "You really think these two jokers didn't know what Roman was planning?" She motioned angrily towards Mox and Seth.

Nathan looked at her with an expression of condescending amusement, then looked to Seth and Mox. "_Did_ you know?"

"No!" they both shouted. However, on the video wall, a shot of Seth's back was shown. He had his hands behind him, and his fingers were crossed. The audience booed, but Nathan pretended not to notice. He looked back at Raven. "There you have it. They say they had no idea."

Raven's eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared as if she was about to snort wisps of fire. "Fine," she finally said. "Then let me avenge my sister by beating the person who _did _it." She nodded towards Roman, who didn't change his military posture at all, but his lips curled into a small smirk. "_And_ make him put up the belt."

"Oh, you'd _like_ that, wouldn't you?" Nathan said. "You'd _love_ a chance to take on the SPWA Champion, wouldn't you?" As Raven nodded, he looked at the audience. "And let me guess, you'd all love to see it happen, wouldn't you? You want to see _Raven Devany_ fight _Roman Reigns_, the current SPWA Champion? Well,_ Do_ you?"

Most of the crowd began to roar, although there was faintly feminine sounding undercurrent of boos. Nathan teased the audience. "You'd all just love the chance to see _Roman Reigns_, the current SPWA champion take on _Raven Devany_," he paused, letting the cheers swell and sound as if they were going to pop the roof off the place, then shook his head. "Sorry, it's not going to happen and I'll-" He had to pause, as the cheering changed instantly into even louder booing. Raven's right hand gripped the microphone tightly, and her left hand balled into a fist. "I'll tell you why," he said, his voice not changing, but sounding much louder, thanks to the sound engineers backstage. "Roman _can't_ fight tonight, because I _agree_ with you, Raven, he should have _some_ type of punishment for what he did to your sister."

"Let _me_ punish him!" Raven screamed, not using her microphone, but letting her voice carry enough to Nathan's microphone picked it up.

"No," Nathan said. "That wouldn't be _right._ He's _my_ son, and this is _my_ arena and therefore, _I_ should determine the punishment. And, the punishment is.." he hesitated as if he was thinking long and hard about this, then finally said, "You're going to work the concession stand tonight, Roman. Maybe as you're selling popcorn, drinks and those _full color_ programs, that cost a mere _fifteen ninety-nine_, you'll take the time to _think_ about what you did, how you brought disgrace, that's right, _disgrace_, to this family."

The camera zoomed in on Roman's face, where for a moment, a wider smirk was seen, that was quickly replaced by an obviously fake expression of remorse. "Yes, Dad, I'll think about that."

"_What?"_ Raven screamed and attempted to lunge at Nathan. However, Marc had moved towards her and put himself between Raven and his father. Raven tried to push him out of the way, but he stayed firm.

"Oh, don't worry," Nathan said. _"You_ won't be standing around tonight. I know you were supposed to have a match with Rock Soldiers, but of _course_ you can't, what with your sister unable to fight. So, we'll have Freak Squad and Rock Soldiers fight tonight."

Raven had thrown her microphone to the floor as she had advanced on Nathan and now she tried screaming as Marc worked to block her from getting near Nathan. While the audience couldn't hear her, anyone who could read lips would realize she was using a lot of words that began with the letter "F."

"She's a little _wildcat_," Pac said, sounding almost admiring. "Too bad she's on the wrong side."

"The wrong side?" Adam said, his voice rising in excitement. "No _way_! She wants to avenge her sister and Nathan won't let her! Working the concession stand? That's not a punishment!"

"It certainly is," Pac disagreed. "You should _see_ way these pigs eat." He motioned to the audience. Hardly any manners to be had among the lot of them."

Meanwhile, Marc had managed to get Raven far away enough from Nathan so she would have to cover some distance before she could attack him, and Marc wasn't going to let her. "Don't worry, little black bird," Nathan said, "I haven't forgotten about you. Since you're _so_ eager to fight, you can take on Mox tonight."

While Raven still looked far from placated, she did seem to calm down slightly. "She still had no microphone, but she screamed out loud enough that those in the front could hear. "Fine! But you'd better have 911 on speed dial, because by the time I'm done with him, you won't have the time to hit all three numbers!"

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Roman tried not to wince as he approached the concession stand, seeing May with her two black eyes. Noella had helped her apply some foundation to cover some of the bruising, but make up could only do so much so she looked rather like a raccoon. "Does it hurt?" he asked, as he got behind the counter. When it was busy, the stand would be manned by several wrestlers that weren't working the show, but when the show was happening and it was slow, one or two people could handle it. Roman and May were to be the two "all the time" folks that night.

May shrugged. "I've had worse. I'm glad I don't wear glasses, I think the weight on my nose would be unpleasant."

Roman sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," May said, shaking her head. "We knew we were taking a risk. I think I just didn't think about how it would be, doing it live, Practicing moves and doing them live are extremely different. And if _anyone_ should have known that, it was me."

Roman shook his head. "I think I'd feel better if you were angry."

May looked at him. "Really? Fine. You ruined my life, you bastard!" she grinned while she spoke.

Roman laughed. "We'd better be careful though," he said. "We're supposed to be mortal enemies. I know the stand is empty now, but someone could come and we'd blow the whole Kayfabe thing."

"We can still be _nice_ to each other," May said. "We'll just do it meanly."

"How do you do that?"

May put her hands on her hips and fixed Roman with an expression of fury that made him wonder for a moment. Then, in a voice that only the two of them could hear, said, "That's a nice shirt you're wearing!" Even though her voice was low, it still sounded angry.

He grinned again. He was wearing a blue silk shirt, the right color of blue that made you really notice how black his hair was. Normally, he would have worn one of the SPWA t-shirts they sold, like May was wearing, but he thought the silk shirt was better than a t-shirt or ring gear and Mox had agreed, saying, "you want to look like you're in charge, not a grunt."

"Stop smiling," May suggested,still glaring. "It's ruining the effect. We're trying to _build_ something here."

Roman changed his expression so he too was scowling. "Thank you," he snapped, "I like your jeans." He thought it might be good to repay her compliment with one of his own, and honestly, the jeans _did_ look good on her.

"Oh?" She quirked a brow, but managed to keep that half angry expression on her face. "Well, _I_ think they make my butt look fat."

Unable to resist, Roman peered around to her backside, where the jeans she was wearing hugged her tightly, showing off her perfectly rounded, but rather muscular rear end. "I think those jeans make your butt look great!" he snapped.

"Thank you!" She growled. "I appreciate the compliment."

They went on like this for a few minutes, and even managed to keep it up when some folks came out to the stand. They lowered their voices so nobody could hear the words as the customers approached, but kept up with the scowling while having a normal conversation. And while they waited on people, they made sure to shoot each other dirty looks and roll their eyes whenever they needed to cross paths.

When all the customers were gone and they had the stand to themselves, May burst out laughing. "That's fun!"

"Do you think we can keep it up until we close the stand?" Roman asked.

"I'm game if you are." She had her hands on her hips now, that irritated expression back on her face.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

As was expected, Sami and Alicia won the tag team match. Mustafa was allowed to show his skills and prove he might be worthy competition, but at the end, Machete was his downfall, getting pinned by Alicia, the first time he got into the ring,

"How do you _do_ it?" Mustafa asked, as the two of them went backstage to change.

"Do what?" Joey asked. He was in his mid twenties, but he had an appearance youthful enough that he didn't look ridiculous wrestling with the teens. Fortunately, his muscle structure was a bit stringy, which helped a lot. It wasn't that Joey didn't work out, he did, he just didn't do as much bodybuilding.

"Be the loser all the time," Mustafa said. "And do it so cheerfully, too. Doesn't it get tiring after awhile?"

Joey shrugged. Now that he wasn't playing at being Joey Machete, jobber extraordinaire, he looked a little bit closer to his age, although Mustafa would bet he never could go to the bar without showing his ID. "You know when you go to house shows, there's usually a match between some up and comer to the company, and some guy?"

Mustafa nodded, grateful that Joey wasn't talking in that overly enthusiastic, higher pitched voice he did when he was Machete too.

"That guy is usually from a local promotion, but he's the jobber. His whole job is to lose, to make the other guy look good."

They went into the locker room. It was intermission, before the main event, and there was a general buzz backstage as people rushed to prepare things for the main event. Not that there was much to do, but the ring was usually inspected quickly to make sure nothing had gone wrong, and sometimes the cover was changed, if it had gotten bloody or too spotted from sweat.

"That guy always fascinated me," Joey said, shrugging as he went to the locker he was using. "That guy who someday hoped to be recognized, but in the meantime, this was a great moment. To get to lose at a house show. And, I started wondering what it would be like to be that sort-of loveable loser as _my_ character. The guy you want to kick in the face for constantly screwing up, but still, he's such a cockeyed optimist that if he's not your partner, you almost admire him for taking it all the time. Machete is the guy that always loses. He's the guy that makes the up and comer look good, he's the guy that is there to fight the guy who's fallen from grace with the boss. You have a fight with Joey Machete and you know you're at the very bottom."

Mustafa shook his head. "I admire you for that. I don't mind losing, but I'd get irritated if I had to do it all the time."

That's not how Machete sees it," Joey said, grinning. "He sees it as there's no place for him to go but up."

"Not really," Mustafa pointed out, as he pulled a dressing gown out of his locker, so he could take a shower. "He seems to be hanging right where he is."

"Yeah." Joey laughed. "That's the catch. Just don't tell Machete, it'll break his heart."

* * *

**Author's Notes: **_I know some folks might think I should have had Cole as the heel color announcer, but I just see his character as someone who was a natural talker when he was a kid and that he didn't get the full attitude until he got older. Neville/Pac? I know Neville was a good guy a lot of the time, but he really hits his stride as a heel._

_You will be seeing a lot of "Special guest" color commentators. Unrealistic, of course, what are the odds that a huge portion of the class made it to the top? But, it sure is fun._

_Thank you for reading this, I appreciate it. I appreciate F/F and reviews too. You folks who have stuck with me the whole series? You are awesome._


	8. Chapter 8

**Question: **What do Alexander The Great and Winnie The Pooh have in common?

**Answer: **The same middle name.

(Again, I only write this because I really don't like how FFnet has that navigation button off to the side that really messes up the centering.

* * *

.

**Chapter Eight**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"We're coming up on the event you've all been waiting for, our main event," Calico Joe said. "Raven Devany vs. Mox!"

"Raven is getting revenge for what Roman did to her sister!" Adam exclaimed, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Raven is being a pain," Pac grumbled. "Mox did nothing wrong, it was _Roman _who was near May when she had her accident, clumsy girl."

An _accident?"_ Adam looked incredulous and ready to say more, but Noella was in the ring. Sefa instructed them very carefully, that when Noella was in the ring, they were to be quiet and let her do her announcing.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the following match is scheduled for one fall! Making her way down to the ring, she is one half of the Devany Sister's tag team, From New York City, its Raven Devany!"

Raven's music began to play and she charged down the ramp and into the ring, bouncing on the balls of her feet, looking eager to get her hands on Mox. She rolled her shoulders as well, as _Hit Me With Your Best Shot_ faded away.

"And, her opponent, representing the Citadel and accompanied by his partner Seth Rollins he is a current tag team champion, from Madison Florida, it's _Jon Moxley!"_

_Mob Rules_ began playing as if on cue and Seth and Dean appeared on the end of the ramp. Mox waved to the crowd and the two of them headed down. Seth started with the military style walk he and Roman had done earlier, but then, realizing Mox was walking at his easy gate, he followed suit.

When they got to the ring, Seth nodded and Mox climbed in, looking at Raven. As he did with most of his opponents lately, Mox eyed Raven with the look of a predator eyeing his prey. Seth, walked around the ring to where the Announcers were sitting.

"Joining us on commentary, is Mox's tag team partner and Citadel brother, Seth Rollins," Calico said as Seth came over to the table. An extra chair and microphone had been set up for him next to Pac. "Welcome, Seth."

"Thank you," Seth said, looking a little nervous. "Do you mind?" he motioned to Pac and the seat.

"Not at all," Pac said. "Maybe with _you_ here, we'll get some _intelligent_ conversation going."

As Seth sat down, Adam scowled at Pac, but said nothing.

In the ring, Mox quite slowly and deliberately removed his belt, being sure to hold it so it was facing Raven as much as possible, so she could see what it was she lost. He took a moment to study the face plate, breathe on it, and wipe it with the sleeve of his coat before he finally and reluctantly leaned over the ropes to hand it to Lance, who took it and ran to the timekeeper's area.

Raven continued to bounce on the heels of her feet, looking like she could not wait to start the fight.

"It looks like Raven is anxious to show Mox what happens when you mess with her family!" Adam observed.

"It looks like Mox understands that there is no hurry," Pac retorted. "It won't take him long to take out the trash, he might as well take the time he needs to prepare properly.

Mox slowly peeled off his coat and handed that to Lance, who took it from him and gently folded it in his arms as if it were precious, not a jacket that appeared to have been a thrift store purchase.

Only when he saw Lance take his coat to the timekeeper area, did Mox turn to face Raven, who was being kept back by the referee.

"I think he's milking it," Adam said.

"_I _think you're an idiot," Pac growled. "You've been brainwashed by Raven and her type."

Adam opened his mouth to speak, but stopped as the bell rang. The referee had managed to get Raven back into her corner, but the moment the bell rang, she charged Mox. There was no circling in the ring, no raising of hands to feel each other out, she knocked him straight on his back and fell on top of him, determined to make this match as short as possible.

At first Mox seemed surprised as if he hadn't expected this from the girl, then he managed to get away from her, rolling into the corner and then gracefully rolling to his feet. A wide grin spread over his face and his eyes glittered in the stage lights.

"Oh, Raven has done it now," Pac exclaimed, looking positively jubilant. "She's brought out Mox's inner lunatic."

"Inner?" Adam retorted. "There is nothing 'inner' about Mox's lunatic side. It runs the whole show."

"Shut your mouth," Pac advised him.

Adam sneered at Pac, sticking out his tongue at the man, but said nothing. Calico Jack kicked him hard under the table. Adam's expression changed to shock, but he kept silent. Keeping his mouth safely from the microphone, Calico leaned back and over to whisper in Adam's ears. "Color commentators do _not_ stick their tongues out like spoiled children!"

"Sorry," Adam said, looking embarrassed.

In the ring, Mox and Raven were both on their feet and circling each other like two jackals about to have it out over the same half eaten carcass. Mox though, still had that look of crazy energy, a grin on his face like he and sanity were at best, nodding acquaintances.

Raven just looked pissed. Her eyes were narrowed into slits of steel as she moved around the ring warily, eyeing Mox the whole time. Even the announcers were quiet, waiting to see who would move first.

It was Mox, who rushed at Raven. Raven managed to duck, but Mox just ran into the ropes, Turning, he did a rebound lariat and charged at Raven, who was still turned from him. He got her onto his shoulders and slammed her to the ground.

"I wonder if she'll be able to get up from _that_ one?" Pac roared, looking excited to see Raven tossed on the ground like a child might throw an object that frustrated them. She didn't move, just lay there.

Mox came over a little cautiously. When she still didn't move, he nudged her with his foot. As Adam was making squawks of protest at Mox's abrasive treatment, Raven's eyes flew open and she grabbed Mox's foot. Rolling into a sitting position, she managed to jerk Mox so he spun around, falling on his chest. She wrapped her arms around his leg, hugging it closely.

Mox struggled to get away from her, using his arms and free leg to get over to the ropes. He was almost there when he appeared to run out of energy. Raven moved backwards, dragging him into the center of the ring and the crowd responded with a mixed bag of booing and cheering.

Mox struggled for several minutes, even raising his hand as if he was going to tap. The referee ran over and knelt down, appearing to be asking Mox if he wanted to give up. Mox kept shaking his head as Raven grabbed his leg tighter. Calico Jack spoke gravely about the potential damage Raven could be causing his leg, making it sound as if she continued her hold much longer, Mox would have to have his leg amputated.

Finally, Mox let out a scream and appeared to be using it to gather all his energy. Rising to his elbows, he strained, pulling himself and Raven forward. He managed to get over to the rope, and grasped onto it with his fingertips. The referee went over and told Raven to release the hold. Raven held on, looking at the referee a few moments as if she had suddenly forgotten how to understand the spoken word. Then, reluctantly, she let go. Rising to her feet, she took a few steps back.

Mox grabbed the calf of his leg with his hand and looked as if he might cry, then seemed to shake it off. He rolled to his feet and went for Raven.

The two of them continued to go back and forth, much to the delight of the audience. Twice, Raven was able to get him into pin position, but both times, Mox was able to kick out on the two count. Raven's expression grew in both frustration and anger.

"I think Raven is beginning to regret that she's fighting her sisters battles," Pac said, his voice smug.

"She should," Seth commented, his voice warbling a bit, as if this whole situation was making him nervous.

"Never!" Adam bravely stuck up for her. "She just wishes Mox was smart enough to give up. She's going to get him, it's just taking longer because Mox is-"

"The _best!"_ Pac roared, his voice carrying above whatever declarations about Mox that Adam was going to give. "Mox doesn't allow himself to feel pain when he's fighting for what's _right." _

"Right?" Adam's voice raised several octaves.

In the ring, Mox had managed to grab Raven again, and threw her into the corner, where her back hit the post and she crumpled to the ground. The referee went over to Mox and began yelling at him, telling him to back off. Mox looked towards Raven, then started to argue with the referee.

Seth, who had been so quiet that many folks even forgot he was on commentary, rose from the table and made his way over to Raven, who had slumped forward. While Mox argued with the referee, Seth grabbed her leg, and pulled it so it curved around the post. Then, he grabbed her foot, pulled it back, then and slammed it into the ring post, over and over again. A look of horror and pain washed over Raven and she cried out.

After having her leg slammed several times, finally the referee seemed to remember this was a match, and turned to check on her. Seth had her leg, but he was just holding it, about to slam it again into the ring post. "Hey!" the referee called out.

Seth dropped Raven's leg instantly and raised his hand, his expression saying, "Me? I wasn't doing anything!" He backed away from the ring, holding his hands up as if to protest his innocence. Raven rolled to her feet and winced, as her knee buckled under her.

"The referee needs to _ca_ll that!" Adam protested. "She can't fight on that knee! Rollins destroyed it!"

"Stop it with your_ lies!"_ Pac roared, "Seth didn't touch her!"

"_My_ lies?" Adam squawked.

"Raven _is_ going to have a hard time going on with that knee," Calico Jack said, ignoring the petty bickering of Adam and Pac. "Something like that could cause her kneecap to pop or become dislocated. At the very least, she's probably torn a ligament. This could put her wrestling career on hold for awhile."

"Serves her right, the arrogant fool," Pac said, looking as if Raven having the nerve to breathe oxygen was an affront to all Pac held sacred.

"She wouldn't even be _in_ this mess if it wasn't for Seth Rollins!" Adam said, trying to bring light to the injustice Raven had suffered.

Mox watched as Raven shook her injured leg, as if trying to shake off the pain. It seemed to work, because when she put it gingerly to the floor, she barely winced, but a close up of her face showed she was biting her lip in concentration. She shook the bad leg again, then put it down and rushed towards Mox.

Mox let her get a few steps, then ran to meet her. He reached out and caught her by the waist and brought her to the ground.

"MOXICITY!" Calico shouted. "He's just done Moxicity on Raven!"

"There's no chance Raven is going to get up from that one," Pac said, as the referee ran over and Mox dropped down and got her into pin position.

Pac was right. The referee counted to three. Raven didn't move and the bell rang.

Seth ran over to the timekeeper's area and grabbed the belt from Lance, who was holding it out. He had grabbed his own belt from where it sat on the table and then climbed into the ring. He handed Mox his belt. Then, when Mox had put his belt on his shoulder, Seth raised his hand and pointed to him.

"Your winner, by pinfall," Noella shouted, "Citadel member, Jon_ Moxley!" _

While most of the crowd cheered, having been fans of Mox for a long time, there was a fairly strong undercurrent of booing as well. Raven was managing to impress the audience.

Mox sneered, then went over to Raven and unceremoniously shoved her under the ropes with his foot, as if she were a large piece of trash discarded into the ring by mistake.

Raven fell to the floor in an ungraceful, thudding, heap and remained still.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Mox!" Raven called out as he came backstage.

Mox looked towards her, "Yeah?" A couple of the other wrestlers had helped her slip backstage while Mox and Seth had stayed in the stands, Mox grandstanding. The concession stand closed just as the Main Event started, so Roman was able to come out and get on stage and congratulate him too.

"I just want you to know, you _totally_ suck," Raven said, as she held her arm out and shook it.

He hurried over to where she was sitting, May sitting next to her. "Did I hurt you?" he asked, "When?"

"When you kicked me out of the ring," she said, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. "I landed on that part of the elbow where when you whack it, you feel like your arm has been instantly thrust into ice water!"

"Ouch, that sucks," Mox said, knowing exactly what she was talking about. "I didn't hurt you for real, did I?"

She shook her head. "Nah. It was a great match!"

He grinned. "It really was, wasn't it?"

Sefa had come over by then and overheard enough to know Raven wasn't physically damaged. "You both did pretty good," he admitted. "Just don't let it go to your head. That's how wrestlers get hurt." He looked meaningfully over at May with her swollen eyes and nose.

"Yes, sir," Raven said.

Mox nodded as well. "We're careful. We can't have anyone get hurt anymore. We need everyone to make this storyline work."

"That's the attitude to have," Sefa agreed, nodding. He looked around and called out, "Everyone, I need you to gather around. If there is anyone in locker rooms, or somewhere else, go get them. I want every camper here in three minutes."

Most of the campers began gathering around, but a few ran off to get various members. Sefa waited patiently until they were all rounded up.

"Good show," Sefa said, nodding. "There were a few botches, but nothing serious, and nobody got hurt."

"Tell my pride that," Mustafa said, which prompted laughter from everyone.

"You have nothing to be ashamed of," Sefa said. "You and Joey did an excellent job of losing." He looked at the crowd of young faces surrounding him. "Tomorrow is Sunday and while the gym and the rings will be around, you are under no obligation to use them. And yes, Marc, myself, or one of the other instructors will be running laps, if you want to participate, but again, it's your choice. You've had a hard week, and a day of recovery is not going to make you soft. I'd recommend most of you drink a lot of liquids and rest tomorrow. Give your muscles a chance to recuperate from the punishment you've put them through."

There was a general murmur of pleasure at this announcement. Most of these kids were athletically inclined, but also for most of them, this was the hardest week they had faced, physically in their short lives. Several had wistful looks on their faces, as if they were imagining sleeping in until their bodies, not the bells coming from the speakers in their dorm rooms woke them.

"Enjoy it while you can," Sefa said. "Because if you thought this week was hard? Wait until next week. You're halfway through your time, and next week we'll need to work twice as hard." When a light groan was heard through the group, Sefa's smile became cocky. "You all paid good money to be here, and we will personally make sure it is money well spent. Because, I don't give refunds."

"That being said," Marc spoke up then. "If you want to head to the mess hall, the kitchen staff has prepared a late night breakfast. Feel free to fill up, so you won't have to wake up early tomorrow unless you want to. And, if any of you want to attend a house of worship tomorrow, talk to Nathan, myself, or one of the other instructors." Normally, it was up to the campers to get themselves to church services, but when the teenagers had the camp, the instructors helped get them there. It was rare that more than a few members would wish to attend, more common for none of them. It wasn't that none of these kids had faith, there were an abundance of religious symbols worn by various campers, but a lot of them were more than willing to risk eternal damnation for one week, just to get to catch up on some sleep.

"Do you need to go to a church or something?" Mox asked Raven.

Raven shook her head. "My mom is pretty active at our local baptist church, but she's not fanatical about it. Most of us go when we're home, because she, my brother Ben, and my sister Shelly sing in the choir. But Mom isn't so into it that she'll be upset if we skip it for a week." She looked at Mox, "Are you a big church goer?"

Mox shrugged. "I go pretty often, but that's only because it's a family type thing. I mean, Roman, Mom, and Marc hardly ever miss a week."

"What about Lance?"

Mox shook his head. "Lance is the family agnostic. And, unless you want to get lectured about his beliefs or lack of them, for what might be a _very_ long time, I wouldn't ask him."

Raven grinned, "I'll keep that in mind." She stood up. "I feel like breakfast, and since they're serving it, I might as well." She looked at him. "Are you allowed to have breakfast with the common folk, or do they forbid to let you mingle with the rest of us grunts?"

Mox had eaten lunch in the mess hall a couple times, when Jen was out running errands, but normally he treated the place like it was just for the campers. But there was no rule expressly forbidding him. He rose to his feet. "Yeah, breakfast sounds pretty good." He looked across the room and spotting Seth and Roman talking, he called out, "Hey, you guys want to go to the mess hall? Scrambled eggs sounds good to me."

Seth nodded and Roman shrugged, then nodded himself. Mustafa had joined the group and the six of them started to head off to the mess hall together. Lance saw them and rushed over. "Can I come, too?"

The six of them exchanged looks, then May put her arm around Lance. "As long as your folks don't mind, sure, you're welcome to join us."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Standing off from the milling students, Noella watched as the group of seven headed out the door. She looked over at Marc, smiling. "It looks like your brothers are making a lot of good friends. Especially, Mox, it seems."

"Does this mean you'll say yes when I ask you to move in with me?" Marc asked.

Noella smile. "You'll have to wait until we go away for that weekend and then ask me."

Marc shook his head, but smiled. He was sure that Noella would say yes, and lately, that was about the only thing he wanted.

* * *

**Authors**** Notes:** I just want to thank everyone who has read this story. And to those who favored/followed? Thank you greatly. Those who took the time to leave a comment? You folks are the ones that make fighting through the stupid that has clouded my mind since chemo worth my time. Thank you so much.


	9. Chapter 9

**Authors Note** For any readers who live in Florida? Stay safe, stay dry. I hope you're well stocked with everything you need and your worst problem is going, "Now what do I do with all of this water and all of these batteries, because the storm changed course the last minute!

* * *

.

**Chapter Nine**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

True to Sefa's word, if any of the young campers thought the first week was rough, they soon found that it was merely a warm up for the second week. There was no need for sessions of finding out where people stood, everyone already knew, so there was no reason to have times to stand around and do nothing. Instead, from the moment they rolled out of bed until the moment they returned to sleep, they were working and working hard. Even meals were quick affairs, no longer than twenty five minutes, bell to bell. The late night breakfast the previous Sunday was about the only meal that was relaxing, the students were given a whole hour to finish. And several didn't even make the full hour, they ate quickly and returned to their bunks to sleep.

When it was announced that a promo involving the entire camp would be filmed, there was a lot of interest, not only at the idea of the promo itself, but the promise that it would not involve a lot of physical activity. This was for Mustafa, May, Raven and the Citadel to shine, the others would mostly be required to look at, and maybe even attempt to eat, oatmeal.

"That's it?" Alicia asked, when Sefa told them what they would be doing. "Just grumble and eat oatmeal?"

"For the most part, yes," Sefa said. "And, follow the cues we'll give you."

"I don't eat oatmeal," a kid named Marshal said. "I'm doing a low to no carb thing."

Sefa rolled his eyes, visibly annoyed. "Then just _grumble!"_ He looked around, "We won't be showing this until the Saturday night show, so those of you involved in this, remember that it hasn't happened in our 'world' until Saturday morning.

"Why don't we just film it on Friday?" Adam Cole asked, head tipped to one side.

"Because I'm betting it will take a lot longer than it should to film it," Sefa retorted with another eyeroll. "And we need time to edit the damned thing."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

It ended up taking three hours worth of work to get the footage needed, which meant that on Tuesday, Marc was able to start the editing process. "That means they're good, right?" Mox asked at dinner, Monday night after the filming was finished.

"Yeah, they're good," Sefa admitted. "But don't you dare tell them I said so. The last thing I need is a bunch of arrogant teenagers around."

"You have enough arrogant teens with Mox and me," Roman said, grinning.

"Eat your dinner, Roman," Sefa suggested. "And stop trying to be a comedian."

Roman, Lance, and Mox all exchanged grins.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

While officially the Citadel had no matches on Friday night, that didn't mean they kept quietly in the back, not to be seen or heard from.

The main event was May and Raven fighting against Alicia and Sami for top contender ship for the tag team titles. There was a fair bit of speculation by the audience that the Citadel might interfere with the match, Roman using it as a chance to get back at May for getting him in trouble. But the Citadel didn't interfere in any matches, instead they just seemed to be hanging around by the ring a lot.

A lot of matches were put into that night, as many as possible, to make sure as many campers as they could get a chance to perform. There wasn't really time to build up story lines, so they were merely matches, winners and losers decided before the match with a coin toss done backstage. If anyone had an objection to this system, they dared not voice it. There were a fair number of students who never would have a chance to wrestle for the shows, some who would never have a chance to even be on commentary or play security guards. And Sefa was quick to let anyone know that if they didn't like having to lose a match, he would happily replace them with someone who would. That they were welcome to go home, but remember, no refunds.

At the main event, the Citadel was right on the edge of the barricade, watching carefully. When May managed to toss Sami out of the ring, the three of them glared at him. Sami looked surprised and when Roman headed towards him, he scrambled into the ring, watching Roman carefully, as if he might be a rabid dog.

Sami was so focused on Roman, that May was able to get the upper hand, grabbing Sami and getting him into a back-to-belly suplex. When he collapsed on the floor, she pulled him over to the corner and climbed up to the top rope. This time she got her chance to perform her shooting star, corkscrew press, while the commentators exclaimed about finally seeing the "Mayday!"

Alicia looked as if she might try to interfere with this, but then she caught sight of Mox who glared at her.

"Your winners," Noella announced, "And the number one challengers for the SPWA Tag Team championships, it's May and Raven Devany!"

Alicia stormed over to Sami, who was staggering to his feet as May and Raven were grandstanding. She stood in front of her partner, stomped her feet, and punched him. He spun around and fell to the ground, almost in a cartoon fashion.

Alicia held her head up high and marched away.

"Something tells me that tag team isn't going to last," Calico said.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"So," Sefa said, acting on a suggestion Mox had given him that morning at breakfast, "to give all of you the chance to perform in front of an audience, we're going to do a Battle Royal. Everyone who doesn't have a regular match will be in that. He looked over at Pac. "You're going to win." He then looked at the group again, "When this meeting is over, all of you in the Royal will meet with Marc and Calico to work things out."

Seth could almost regret that he wasn't part of the Battle Royal group. Not that he wasn't pleased with the role he had, he was one of the major players in this two week extravaganza, but it would be cool to tell his friends that he'd competed in a Battle Royal. _I'm greedy,_ he thought, but maybe being greedy like that was a good thing for a professional wrestler.

He half listened as Sefa called off the regular matches that would be taking place. Sami and Alicia were going to have a grudge match, to officiate the break up of their tag team, which should be interesting. He didn't really have a match tonight, although the Citadel would make an appearance.

_Wait a moment,_ he raised his hand. When Sefa nodded at him, he spoke up. "I don't have a match tonight. I mean, I'll be with the Citadel, but only Roman has a match. So, can I be in the Royal?"

Sefa frowned, but Seth knew the man well enough to know it was an "I'm thinking." frown and not a, "Shut up, you idiot," frown. "Why not?" he finally said. "Talk to Roman and Mox. Maybe we can even have you thrown in as a 'spy' for the family and the Citadel, and your job is to make sure Mustafa doesn't win." He nodded, warming up to the idea. "Yeah, that sounds good. The three of you work on that for a bit. Maybe even do a quick promo, and by quick, Mr. Rollins, I mean _quick._ No stammering unless it's part of the script."

Seth actually thought he was doing a lot better with promos, and felt a little hurt at Sefa's remark, but he wisely did not let it show. _At least I get to be in the Royal tonight._

"May, Raven, Mustafa, have the three of you thought of a name for your merry faction?"

The three young wrestlers looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Okay," Sefa said, "You three will be meeting with Lance then. You four can brainstorm up a name. If you don't have a name in half an hour, you're going to be called 'Tog.' As in _Those Other Guys_.'"

"That's a horrible name!" Raven blurted out.

Sefa raised his brows at her. "All the more incentive to come up with a better one."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Strikes," Raven suggested, half out of desperation. They had been discussing names for the last ten minutes and she felt like time was slipping away quickly. "As in, there are three of us, and three strikes you're out."

"Uh, no," May said, shaking her head. "The Strikes just sounds lame."

"I'm not seeing _you_ coming up with anything, brilliant _or_ lame," Raven pointed out, her face drawn into a scowl. She looked at Lance who had been uncharacteristically quiet so far. Usually the kid always had something to say. "Okay, you're the brilliant one, do you have an idea?"

"It just so happens I do," Lance said. "But I wanted to give all of you a chance to suggest any bad ideas you had, so you could get it out of your system."

"I skipped a grade, and you manage to make me sound like I belong in remedial reading," Raven remarked, not unkindly. She liked Lance. He was smart and fearless about his intelligence, and even though he was skinny enough that Raven worried every time he got in the ring to show them something, the kid _could_ wrestle.

"So, don't be shy," Mustafa said with a friendly smile, because Mustafa never seemed to get upset unless he was in character. "Tell us."

"The Order of the Phoenix." Lance said.

Raven looked at him, shaking her head, "Yeah, I've pre-ordered the book, too."

"Rowling didn't _invent_ the title _Order of the Phoenix,_" Lance said, managing to only look a tiny bit exasperated, which Raven figured was probably taking him a lot of self control. "_Order of the Phoenix_ was originally an order from Greece. They were established in 1926, to replace the Royal Order of King George the First."

All eyes were on Lance now, and he seemed to relish the attention, "The Order still exists today, but it's usually awarded for doing outstanding things, like writing really good books, or excelling in Science. There's even an award for commerce too. Stuff that helps Greece's reputation in the eyes of the world and that helps the Greek people themselves."

"So, you're suggesting we pretend to be Greek?" Mustafa asked, winking at May.

"No, I'm just telling you _Order of the Phoenix_ isn't copyrighted to JK Rowling. You can use it safely," Lance said.

"Do we _want_ to look like Harry Potter geeks?" Raven asked. "Because that's what everyone thinks of when they hear _Order of the Phoenix._"

"Says a girl who just admitted she has the next book on order," Lance retorted.

"Touché," May said, grinning at her sister then looking at Lance. "Let's be honest, if someone is too 'cool' to admit they read the books, they're probably too cool to admit they know the name of the next one. I like it." She nodded. "A Phoenix rises from the ashes. Our group is rising from a brutal dictatorship."

"Brutal dictatorship?" Mustafa snorted. "Okay, Lance's dad is a little strict, but that might be a bit of an exaggeration."

May shook her head, smiling. "It's _wrestling,_ Mustafa, it's _always exaggerated."_

Lance nodded in agreement. "Did you forget about the promo you guys filmed earlier? That strikes _me_ as a pretty brutal dictatorship."

Mustafa thought for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, I see your point."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Tonight, Noella was wearing a slinky emerald green dress, but her opening was the same. "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to _SPWA Saturday Night!"_ She paused to let the cheering die down then again informed the audience of who she was and that she would be the ring announcer. Then she announced the commentary team as they filed in and went to the table. "Or commentary person tonight is Calico Jack!"

Calico paused and tipped his hat to the audience, as he sat down and placed the hat on the table.

"Assisting him on commentary tonight, are _Kevin Owens_ and _Sami Zayne!"_

The audience cheered for the two boys, one of them a redhead who moved as if he had limitless energy. The other, a taller, heavier set boy moved slower and looked at the seat as if it might be covered in something disgusting. He motioned like he was brushing it off and then sat down. Now he looked at the audience as if _they_ might be covered with something disgusting and perhaps they should all go to the lavatory and wash up a bit. Instead of leaning forward as if he was raring to go, as Sami had, Kevin crossed his arms and leaned back in the chair, as if he wasn't going to say a word unless something extra spectacular was happening.

A lot of the audience recognized them, because they had fought the night before. Kevin wasn't quite the amateur most of the students were, he had been taking lessons from a professional promotion since he was eleven. He and Sami were the only two campers from Canada, and both of them were from Quebec. They had met at the camp, and maybe it was because they were both from the same place, but they had almost instantly become friends and that friendship helped both of them put on a match that convinced the audience that they hated each other with a passion. Now the audience was looking forward to seeing how they would behave on commentary, or perhaps misbehave.

"Thank you, Noella," Calico said, nodding to the woman. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Noella, our ring announcer."

The crowd clapped and a cheer that sounded a lot on the masculine side rolled through the arena. Calico gave it the time it needed to end organically, then went back to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen," he said. "Things have been really crazy at SPWA this week. we've had a lot of wrestlers expressing discontent about how they see themselves being treated. Many of them think that the owner, Sefa Reigns is showing gross favoritism to a select few and only a select few, which includes his sons."

Sami didn't say anything, but he was nodding, offering his support in the idea that favoritism was being shown. Kevin looked up at the ceiling as if he was having a mental debate, then he uncrossed his arms and leaned forward to the microphone. "Calico, are we really going to go here? Really? Because I have _much_ better things to do than to argue about what a man is doing with the wrestlers in his _own_ wrestling camp."

"That may be true," Sami said, "But even you have to admit-"

"Rather than explain it to the audience," Calico interrupted, "Let's show the audience something that was brought to our attention. Folks, this morning in the mess hall, our security cameras caught the following."

Everyone's attention turned to the video wall. There was a moment of hushed silence, then the promo filmed earlier that week began playing.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_Looking as if they hadn't slept in days, the young wrestlers almost appeared to be stumbling into the dining hall, many of them covered in sweat, their hair and shirts plastered to their bodies._

_There were windows in the dining hall, but they all seemed to be covered up with dark curtains that made the hall look gloomy and almost dingy. the wrestlers all trudged up to the food service lines. Food service workers, all wearing what appeared to be filthy outfits, scooped a thick, brownish gray looking substance with large metal spoons, putting it into thick bowls. Many times, the workers had to bang on the side of the bowl to get the substance from spoon to bowl. Even though it seemed that none of the wrestlers could look more unhappy, when they were handed a bowl of the gray substance, they all managed to find a little bit more misery to show. _

"_I thought we were supposed to get something special for lunch," May grumbled. She was one of the first people in the line. "We were promised a better lunch if we got the grass cut." _

"_You think they could have given us something better to cut it with than cuticle scissors," Mustafa said, looking sadly at his band-aid covered fingers. _

"_You are getting something special," a woman at the end of the line snapped. An unlit, but half smoked cigarette hung from her lips and she passed out tiny cartons of skim milk. _

"_Uh, these say they expired in… 1998!" May protested. _

"_We froze them," The woman barked. "They're fine. We only lost power to the freezer a few times and never more than a couple of days."_

_Raven had tipped her bowl upside down and was staring up at it. "This is like paper mache or wallpaper paste," she muttered._

"_Paper mache paste is made with flour and water," The woman snapped. "Flour costs money. Now, take your milk, eat your food, and shut up!" _

_May, Raven, Mustafa and others filed over to a long table,where others were going, everyone looking miserably. _

"_Eat up!" a voice called out, sounding positively jubilant and gracious. "There's plenty more where _that_ comes from." _

_All the wrestlers at the table looked up and the view changed to show what they were seeing. Across the dining hall was another table, this one smaller and more intimate, round instead of rectangular. It was covered with a snowy white tablecloth, set with what appeared to be thin, delicate china. A silver candelabra with three snowy white candles was in the center of the table. Silver dishes containing a variety of foods were on the table, all of them looking perfectly made and delicious. _

_Sitting at the table was Sefa/Nathan, Marc, Lance, and the Citadel. Seth's eyes were wide as if he had never seen such a magnificent spread before him._

"_More caviar?" Nathan asked, holding out a bowl of black,lumpy looking stuff, that was actually not fish eggs, but small blueberries in a blueberry sauce so dark it looked black. "It's-" with his free hand, he picked up the container and looked at it, "Beluga Sturgeon. It's really good on those little pancakes." _

_Before Seth could answer, Mox said, "I'll have some more." _

_Nathan handed him the small, silver bowl, that looked as if it were heaped with many jars of the "caviar." "Just be careful," he cautioned. "You need to save room for that Filet Mignon you've got coming." _

"_Oh, I'm saving room for that," Mox said with a happy grin. "I've never had Kobe beef before." _

_Roman and Marc could be seen digging into a plate of lobster tails, while Lance was eating what appeared to be some type of poultry. Next to his plate was a glass dome. _

_The camera view went back to the wrestlers. Mustafa was groaning. "That smells so good!" _

"_What I wouldn't give for a bite of a hamburger, never mind that steak Mox has coming," May said wistfully, staring over at the "family" table. _

_Raven stared again into her bowl of gray stuff, then glared at the table. Next to her, Alicia Fox opened up her container of milk and tried to pour it into her bowl. A lumpy substance that looked a great deal like large curd cottage cheese, put in a mixture of skim milk and water plopped into her bowl, and everyone around her began making gagging noises as if they had been hit by an almost deadly stench. "I-I'm not hungry," Alicia said, pushing the bowl away from her. But, she looked over at Raven't bowl with a wistful look as if she was lying. _

_The camera zoomed in on Raven's face where she was staring at the family table, her expression growing darker and darker. "This is wrong," she said, her voice matching her expression. _

"_Shh!" May said, looking alarmed. "Don't you remember what happened the last time someone complained?" _

_What exactly had happened "the last time" was not told, but both May and Mustafa trembled as if the memory would haunt them forever. For a moment, Raven looked as if she was hesitating, then she stood up and walked over to the family table. She put the bowl down in front of Nathan. "This," she said. "Is _bullspit_." _

_Nathan looked at her, curling a lip as if he could smell what was coming from the bowl and found it offensive. "It's nutritionally sound," he said, in a voice that spoke of saying these words way too many times. _

"_It's crap!" Raven exclaimed. "You've been serving this garbage to us the whole time we've been here and it's crap! And for the price of that bowl of fancy fish eggs, you could have bought everyone here a real meal!" _

"_Real food is for winners," Nathan said, his voice cold. "You are not winners." _

"_Winners?" Raven scowled. "You mean _cheaters!_ We would have won fair and square if these so-called 'winners' didn't interfere with our matches! The wrestling in this promotion is rigged!" _

"_Watch it!" Nathan said, his voice rising, "Keep it up and I'm going to make you wash and wax Seth's Maserati!" _

_For a moment, Raven looked stunned, then she clenched her fists. "You bought him a _Maserati?"

"_Of course I did," Nathan said. "Winners deserve to be treated like winners. A Maserati says you're a winner." _

"_It also says you can do 185!" Mox chirped. _

_Raven shot Mox a look, then looked back to Nathan. "We're eating… gruel-" _

"_-Nutritionally sound, _cereal,_" Nathan interjected. "It's too thick to be gruel." _

"_You're feeding us _gruel,_" Raven continued, ignoring Nathan's protests,. "and making us do all the grunt work around here without the right equipment, but you can afford to buy him a _Maserati?"

"_Yes," Nathan said, his voice cold. "Again, this table is for winners. The table where you belong is the _loser_ table. So, why don't you go back to all your _loser_ friends and let us _winners_ enjoy our meal in peace." _

"_Yeah," Lance said, rolling his eyes. "We've got 4000 dollar Sundaes made with edible gold and Madagascar vanilla being flown in for us from New York, and if you don't leave, by the time we get to eat them, they'll be melted." _

_Raven's eyes widened at the mention of the sundaes and she looked over at the table where her sister and the other wrestlers were. "Do you hear this, people? We're eating gruel with five year old milk, and they're going to eat edible gold!" She stalked towards the table, looking at them. "How much longer are we going to stand this?"_

_There was a heartbeat of total silence, then Alicia looked up. "I'm hungry," she complained, looking at her bowl of spoiled gruel. _

"_So am I," May almost whispered, but the sound was still picked up. "But what can we do?" _

"_We have to do something!" Raven protested, taking back the bowl of gray mush she'd put near Nathan._

"_Shut up!" Nathan shouted from across the room, "If you kids don't shut up and eat, instead of wrestling, you'll be cleaning out the septic tank!" _

_Raven walked over to the other side of the table and put her bowl in front of Alicia. Alicia looked at it, then shrugged and began eating it. Raven moved and sat down on the bench between Mustafa and May. "Are we going to just let this happen?" she complained, her voice in a stage whisper._

"_What can we do?" May asked again._

_Mustafa was quiet for a moment, then said, "Maybe it's time to show them we're not going to take this anymore. Not with your protesting. Not that you're not brave, Raven, but it's not working. We need to show the Reigns we're serious and we need to show them where it matters the most, hurt them where it matters the most." _

_Both Raven and May focused their attention on Mustafa. "What do you have in mind?" May asked, a faint trace of hope coming to her eyes. _

"_Too many ears," Mustafa said, nodding his head in the direction of the family table, where the sounds of silver clattering on China and people truly enjoying their food could be heard. "We'll talk about it this afternoon, when we're scrubbing the bathrooms." _

_Raven nodded in agreement. "We have to do something." _

"_You had to remind me of the bathrooms," May said, looking ready to cry. "My toothbrush is almost free of bristles from cleaning the bathroom with it and I haven't brushed my teeth since we got here." She stared into her bowl of cereal, shook her head, then looked up as if she had made her choice. "We have to do something," She agreed. "Whatever you're thinking, Mustafa? I'm in." _

"_Me too," Raven agreed. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Do you believe them?" Kevin practically demanded when the video faded out. "Ungrateful brats."

"_Ungrateful_?" Sami protested. "You've eaten that stuff, it's horrible! If I'd heard them, I would have asked to join in."

"I've never eaten it," Kevin said.

"Oh?"

"I eat what the family eats." Kevin waved his hand in a breezy, dismissive way.

"Well, that explains why you haven't lost any weight," Zayne said, looking Kevin up and down. "I didn't see you sitting at the 'winner' table." he added.

"Well, no," Kevin agreed. "I'm not _quite _at their level, but I get the same food they get, I just have to sit at a table in the back, out of sight, so the rest of you chumps don't get jealous."

"Oh?" Sami Zayne's voice raised at least one octave. "Are you trying to say that there is another special table-"

"We don't know what this means," Calico interrupted. "But it's clear that _something_ is being planned. And when we learn more, we'll keep you posted."

"In the meantime, aren't people here for _wrestling?_" Kevin asked, with a roll of his eyes. "Who cares what a group of trash thinks or does? They aren't important. The next _match_ is important."

"And the next match is a grudge match between two former tag team partners," Calico said smoothly. "We've seen Sami Callihan and Alicia Fox working together and they seemed to be a well-oiled machine, but last night, this happened."

He motioned to the screen where they showed the end of the fight last night, where Sami spent more time worried about Roman than May and paid dearly. They showed him being pinned and then Alicia punching him. "Apparently, that was the end of a team and now the two of them want a chance to see who is the better wrestler."

"It's Sami," Sami said.

"Of course you'd say that," Kevin said. "Because you share the same name. You even spell it the same _stupid_ way."

As Sami Zayne and Kevin Owens argued, the man in question came out to _More Human Than Human_. He got into the ring, looking slightly irritated as if he wasn't sure he should have to fight this battle.

"I guess Sami got custody of the entrance music," Kevin said, smirking.

As Sami moved about the ring, shaking his arms and throwing a few air punches, the Prince song _Let's Go Crazy_ began playing and Alicia came out, wearing a sarcastic smirk as she strutted to the ring, accompanied by a great deal of cheering that sounded predominantly male. She high stepped it into the ring, wearing a pair of glittering, silver colored eight inch heels, which she kicked off and then held over the ropes. Lance ran from the timekeeper area, took the shoes, and handed her a pair of white sneakers. The message was obvious. "I'm not going to risk my beautiful shoes over the likes of you." She put on the sneakers slowly and deliberately, both managing to make it look seductive and irritating. When she was done, she bounced on the balls of her feet a couple times, and then finally nodded.

Noella informed the crowd that this was scheduled for a one fall, and that the winner would be determined by pinfall or submission. Then, the timekeeper rang the bell, and Sami and Alicia met in the center of the ring.

"Sami should just give up now," Kevin remarked, his voice sounding bored. "He can't win."

"That wouldn't be very exciting, would it?" Zayne said. "If wrestlers just said they couldn't win and didn't even bother. Do you want to watch that? Besides, _I'm_ sure he can win."

"We'll see," Kevin said, looking as if he might just decide to take a nap rather than to waste time watching this match.

From the start of the match, Alicia had the upper hand and tossed Callahan about the stage like a rag doll. Every time he managed to stagger to his feet, she was there, grabbing him, tossing him about, using his hair to wrap her hands in and smacking his face into the canvas. For ten minutes this went on, and the audience was convinced it was an "Alicia Fox squashes Sami Callihan like a bug" match, then Alicia did a running leap, ending with a knee to the chest, that made Sami's head snap back into the ring post, where he'd been leaning, trying to get his breath from the last beat down.

That seemed to be the final straw and while everyone expected Sami to just stop, he rose to his feet, grabbed Alicia, and threw her out of the ring and into the barricade. She landed with a thump like a bag of wet cement and slid to the ground. Sami leaned over the ropes to yell at her, and then slumped forward himself, and fell out of the ring and onto the floor, and lay there.

The referee came over and began counting. When he got to five, Alicia rose to her feet and looked as if she was going to make it to the ring, but instead, collapsed at the stairs. At the eight count, Sami raised his head, blinking several times as if trying to clear the confusing from his mind.

"Nine!" The referee shouted.

Sami still stared, as if he had never heard numbers in his life.

"He could have a concussion!" Zayne shouted. "Call the match! He needs medical help!"

"Not everyone is a big pus-_kitty_, like you, Zayne," Kevin said. "Then again, you are his friend, he might be weak, too."

"TEN!" the referee called, then motioned to the timekeeper, who rang the bell.

Nobella stepped into the ring and announced that the match was called due to countout, thus was declared to be a draw. Several students dressed as "medical personnel" came down and helped the two of them backstage.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The late night breakfast in the mess hall was a bitter-sweet time for most of the campers. They had worked hard, many of them had the evidence of bumps and bruises to show for this time, but they had also made friends. A few realized that professional wrestling wasn't really their dream, while others were more fired up and more determined than ever.

"You all have time for the sad goodbyes tomorrow," Sefa announced when the campers were all in the hall. "Can I suggest you just bask in the glory of having made it these two weeks? Because all of you deserve it."

The kids cheered. As Sefa had predicted, the group that was leaving now, was significantly smaller than the group that had started. Several kids had gone home, once they realized that being a professional wrestler required more skill and sacrifice then they had or were willing to make. "All of your are winners," Sefa continued. "And you should enjoy your success." He started to clap and everyone else started to join in, taking the clapping to raucous levels, as students began adding whistles and whoops to the mixture.

Barely had the cheers died, when Seth stood up and said, "And I think we owe Mr. Reigns and the staff a cheer too, for all their help and support."

All the students stood up and began clapping and cheering, even louder than they had for themselves. It was several minutes they stomped, clapped and whooped. Sefa stared at them, trying to scowl, but unable to keep the corners of his mouth into softening into a faint smile. "Oh, stop it," he said when the cheers died down. "And eat your breakfast before it gets cold."

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Thank you to everyone who read, favored/followed, and/or reviewed the last chapter. I know I've lost some readers along the way, so I really appreciate anyone who is still with me on this. No, I'm not asking for sympathy, when you get to the third story in a series, a lot of folks have wandered off, because life called, because they got bored, because the story took a turn they didn't like.

Happy Labor day to all in the USA, and again, my thoughts are with you, people of Florida. I really hope Dorian veers away from you.


	10. Chapter 10

**Authors Notes: **Please forgive any mistakes in this. I'm posting it from a tablet instead of my chromenbook and this is a learning experience. I'm in the hospital right now. Husband was having chest pain and fatigue in his arms. He's had a bunch of tests and is having more now, which is why I decided to post this, because it's something to do besides panic and worry. Okay, I'm still worried and still panicking, but at least I can also focus on trying to get this table to do what I want.

* * *

.

**Chapter Ten**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Sefa was strict on the idea that Sundays were days off for campers, but staff was another matter. When camp sessions were shifting, beds had to be stripped and made and rooms made up to prepare for the next group. And it had to be done quickly. The old campers were taken to airports or bus stations by noon. The next batch were picked up and brought to the camp in the afternoon.

On this Sunday, May and Raven were moving into the house for their next two weeks and Mustafa and Seth were switching their sleeping arrangements so they would be sharing a bunk and two lockers next to each other. All four kids, not wanting to cause more work for their hosts, knowing the next two weeks were free, stripped their bunks and remade them up for the next guests. Mustafa and Seth made up their new bunks as well.

It didn't take long for the girls to move their stuff to the house, they hadn't arrived with much, just what had been suggested when they were accepted. Since they were doubling their stay, Jen offered to wash their clothing.

"Are you sure?" May asked. "We could do it, we do most of our laundry when we're home."

"I don't mind at all," Jen assure them. "And, since this is the only day off you get, why don't the two of you go out and enjoy the sunshine?"

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox and Gimpy were coming in to prepare for the next batch of campers, just as Seth and Mustafa were finishing up with moving. When the realized that Mox was trying to strip the beds, they looked at each other, shrugged, and walked over. "Why don't we help you?" Seth suggested.

"You're students, not workers," Mox said, shaking his head.

"They're _friends_, not just students," Gimpy said. "Let them help, they probably want to hang out with you and figure if they help, you'll be done faster."

Mox looked startled, as if this hadn't occurred to him. He looked at the two boys who shrugged and nodded and finally shrugged himself. "Well, if you can strip the bunks, I'll start making them."

"And while you do that, I'll start working in the bathroom," Gimpy said.

By the time they finished the one cabin, Raven and May had left the house and were more than happy to help as well and as a result, it was barely mid morning when they were finished. The teenage campers going home had been moved out, among hugs and flurries of goodbye and promises to text and email. Until the next batch of campers arrived, the camp was quiet.

Since the mess hall wouldn't be open for lunch, the kids ate dinner in the house with the family, which Mox noticed that Jen really seemed to enjoy. They had to eat in the dining room, since the kitchen was too small, but they ate using the everyday dishes, which gave the meal a relaxed, almost party atmosphere. When the meal was finished, May and Raven got up and began clearing the table.

"You don't have to do that!" Jen protested.

"Sure we do," Raven said, shrugging, "You're putting us up for a couple weeks, the least we can do is help out around the house."

"We really don't mind," May added.

"Don't stop them, Mom!" Lance said quickly.

"Gee," Mox said with a grin, "I wonder whose turn it is to clear the table?"

As it ended up, all the kids cleared the table and took care of the dishes. While it seemed that they spent most of their time joking and laughing, they also cleaned up so well that Jen was impressed. "They cleaned the whole kitchen," She remarked to Sefa, "Not just the sink and the dishes, but they wiped down all the countertops, wiped the stove clean, and left the kitchen cleaner than it was."

"And had fun while doing it," Sefa added, grinning. "They're all good kids. And I'm glad Mox has a group of friends that all love what he loves. Roman has his football buddies, Mox needs some buddies who are the same about wrestling."

"Well, I'd say he found them," Jen remarked. "It's too bad they all didn't live closer."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

A few more cars arrived with this group than with the teenagers, but just like the teens, they weren't welcome in the camp until groups had been picked up from the airport and the bus terminal. They could park in the parking area, and hang out there, but nobody was allowed to go beyond the gates. There was nothing to block them, but the rules had been clearly written and sent to them, and they all had to agree to them.

"What happens if someone decides to ignore that rule?" Mox had asked way back when the first camp session he'd been there for, happened. "Would you really kick them out?"

"Chances are, no." Sefa admitted. "It would be hard to use that as my only validation for kicking them out and keeping their money, but it_ will _tell me that they're likely to be a huge pain in my ass."

The Citadel members and the Order of the Phoenix, along with Lance, were able to watch the gathering of driving students, because they were sitting at the outdoor ring nearest the driveway, Mox's favorite ring for running the ropes, and discussing ideas for the next four shows.

"I'm going to be exhausted," Roman remarked. "I've got to start going to early football practice. The coach is giving me some time off, but I promised I'd go for the morning sessions."

"Should we replace you?" Mox asked, looking horrified.

Roman shook his head. "I think I'm good enough that I can manage both. It's not like I'm going to be expected to give speeches, I'm leaving the whole mouthpiece of the group up to you and Seth. I'm just telling you that I won't be here for every single practice. You all aren't officially part of the new session, so you're going to have all day to work out stuff. You'll have to fill me in when I'm here."

"Why do you want to do that football thing, anyway?" Raven asked, shaking her head. "You're tall, you're muscular, you're Samoan. You were born to wrestle."

"I like football," Roman said with a small smile.

"Football is stupid," Raven declared.

"Raven!" May scolded, then looked at Roman, "Sorry, her mouth works faster than her brain."

"No, I've thought for a long time that football is stupid," Raven said. "Our oldest brother is into football. He's got the scholarship to Empire State to prove it, too."

"Exactly, Roman said. "They don't offer professional wrestling scholarships. And even if they did, I do like football."

"Your choice," Raven said with a shrug. "I still say it's a waste of your talent. Your hair too, for that matter. You have _awesome_ hair."

Roman laughed, and then barely aware he was doing it, pulled his hair back and put it into a ponytail, using one of the elastics on his wrist. "You can thank Lance for that. I promised I won't cut my hair until he wants to cut his." He looked at Lance. "Are you getting tired of those long locks?"

Lance shook his head. "I think long hair makes me look more like a wrestler."

"He has a point," Raven said. "Long hair-"

She never got to finish her thoughts on long hair, because one of the future campers, waiting outside in the parking lot, had decided to break the rules and came over to them. "I didn't think I'd be going to school with a bunch of children," he said, ending his remark with an almost stereotypical bully chuckle. "Heh-heh-heh."

Mox had been looking at Raven, whose back was to the intruder, but the moment she heard that chuckle, he saw her lips curl and she whipped around to stare.

The interloper didn't just _sound_ like a bully, he looked like one, too. Big muscles to the point where they looked almost comically oversized, as if someone had blown them up with a bicycle pump. His head was bald and his neck so thick that it almost looked as if his head was misshapped and he simply had no neck. He was chewing some type of gum, fiercely and he must have recently started on that particular stick, because a cloud of minty stench seemed to envelope him.

"Oh my god, it's a living Sontaran," Mustafa murmured. He was standing right behind May, and she was the only one who heard it. She whipped around and gave him a wide eyed look, covering her mouth so she wouldn't giggle. "So, I'm not the only person who watches Doctor Who?" he said, voice still low.

"Nope," May whispered back. "My brother Ben is a _total_ Whovian."

"Hi," Roman said, deciding it was his job to play diplomat. "I'm Roman _Reigns._ These are my brothers, Mox and Lance. We're part of the staff here at the Samoan Pride Wrestling Academy. And you are?"

"Skip," The stranger said, still chomping eagerly on the gum, making little smacking noises. "Skip Sheffield. But, seeing that _I'm_ in the WWF, I guess you guys should call me by my wrestling name,_ Ryback._"

"I know about you," Lance said, looking completely unimpressed. "You're the guy the WWF is sending from developmental to get some remedial training, because apparently, you've got a problem with injuring people."

Even as the words were coming out of Lance's mouth, Mox both wanted to laugh, but instinctively knew that was absolutely the wrong thing to say. "Dad _never_ said that," he quickly said. "He's here to tighten things up a bit, get him ready to go further." He wished he could have added, "To join the main roster of the WWF," that certainly would have soothed this… _Ryback_ considerably, but he knew that would be enough of a lie that Lance would have called him on it. Ryback, while having a terrific body for a wrestler, especially if he was to be playing a wrestler not known for his brilliance, did not have the high skills the WWF demanded. This two week stint at the SPWA was a direct request from the WWF talent department and even though they would pay for it, it had been made clear it was a last chance for the guy.

"Yeah, that's right," Skip/Ryback said, nodding. Every movement of his head further spread the reek of peppermint from him. "I'm just here to put the final touches on my moves."

"Oh, _that's_ what they're calling it," Lance muttered, which earned him a shove from Roman's toes, and he gave a quick yelp.

"Well, we're looking forward to having you here," Roman said, trying to be the diplomat his father expected the staff to be, "And, I appreciate your enthusiasm to get started, but you're supposed to wait for _all_ the students to assemble before coming into the camp."

"Oh, I figured that was for the newbies," Ryback said with a shrug and a dismissive wave of his hand. "You know, the guys who've never really wrestled before. I have, I'm a _professional."_

A snort of laughter came from Lance, which earned him another kick from Roman. Mox nodded, trying as Roman was, to show pride and respect for the academy. "I understand completely, Skip,"

"-_Ryback,_" Skip interrupted. "I'm a professional wrestler, so you have to call me, _Ryback,_ because that's my _wrestling_ name." He paused to wipe his nose with the sleeve of his shirt. "Anyway, so I was figuring since I'm early and since I'm a _professional_ wrestler, I could, you know, get started early. You guys could show me my bunk and all. Since some of you seem to work here, and I _am_ a student."

"So are we," Seth said.

Ryback laughed, as if Seth had said something really funny. "You're kids," he said. "I didn't come here to train with _kids._ Although," he looked over at May and Raven, giving them a long, once over. "Maybe these two aren't kids but midgets?"

"We prefer the term, 'little people,'" May retorted. Although, neither May nor Raven, nor anyone in their family were considered midgets or dwarfs, the fact that everyone on their mother's side of the family were significantly under six feet tall, being called a midget was commonplace. It irritated May, because she didn't see why being short was such a bad thing.

"Hey, I've got nothing against Midgets!" Ryback said. "They're just the right height for a lot of things."

"Like what?" Lance asked.

"They don't have to get on their knees to-"

"They make good barstools," Mox interrupted, speaking loudly and glaring at Skip.

"That's _lame."_ Lance shook his head.

"Yeah, it is," Mox agreed, still staring.

"Look," Roman slid out of the ring and went over to Ryback. "I get where you're coming from, but the rules are for everyone. Nobody is allowed in the camp until all the campers have arrived. We don't play favorites." He was trying to keep his voice modulated, a tone that said he wasn't going to brook any argument, but that he was sympathetic to Ryback's situation. In truth, this "Ryback" had managed to rub him the wrong way the moment he came over to them. He looked up towards the parking lot, noticing that one of the rented vans, this one probably coming from the bus station, was pulling in. "There's some of them right now," He said. "I'm sure the rest will be along soon. You should go hang out with them."

"_Quickly,_" Lance added.

Ryback shot him a look and Mox cringed wanting to hit Lance. He got where the kid was coming from, but the important thing was to get the meathead out of here.

"I'm serious," Lance said. "It's good advice, because if Dad sees you broke the rules, he'll make you the scapegoat for the whole two weeks. So, before he sees you, just go and hang with the others."

"Tell them all about how you're with WWF development," Seth suggested with a straight face. "That will probably impress them."

Ryback frowned for a moment, as if thinking, then gave another one of those smug grins that made Mox's skin crawl and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. I don't want to get in trouble on my first day." He looked at Roman. "Thanks!"

"No problem," Roman said, looking up and seeing the other vehicle heading to the parking lot. "You'd better hurry, the rest of them are arriving and Dad'll be out soon."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth, Mustafa, Raven and May stayed by the ring as Roman, Lance, and Mox ran up to the house to put on clean staff shirts and go to greet the new batch of campers. Seth watched as Ryback managed to get back to the group and started talking to other folks who were waiting. Even though Seth had no idea how to read lips, especially not from a distance, just his body language told him that "Skipback" (as he had privately nicknamed him) was attempting to impress everyone with his experience. A few of the students actually seemed to have fallen for it.

"I don't like him," Lance said, frowning.

"Yeah?" Raven snorted. "There's a name for all the people who don't like that guy. It's called _everyone._"

Everyone laughed, except for May, who was also watching Skipback and frowning. "I get the feeling that guy is trouble."

"Yeah," Seth agreed.

"Then, let's do our best to avoid him," Mustafa suggested. "I'm sure we don't have to spend too much time with the regular campers, we're the special group."

"We're the best!" Raven agreed. "We're the Order Of the Phoenix!"

"You'll never win over the might of The Citadel!" Seth said, feeling he had to defend his group, even if he was the only one there.

"We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" May said with a warm smile.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Sefa knew instantly that Mr. Skip Sheffield, was going to be trouble. He had been told when he was asked to "train him properly" that he was someone who could be "difficult," but realized shortly after meeting him that Paul had been full of it. Sheffield wasn't "difficult," Sheffield was a roaring ass, used to getting his own way, and used to using his intimidating looks and probably rocklike fists to do whatever he wanted.

He didn't take long to expose himself to Sefa either. Right after Sefa did the whole, "My name is Nathan Reigns, you may call me Mr. Reigns or Sir," schtick, when usually the students stayed as quiet as little churchmice, waiting until they felt it was safe to speak, Skip Sheffield didn't even raise his hand, he just opened his mouth and allowed words to fall out.

"And all of you should call me, _Ryback," _ he said, his head doing this annoying nodding thing as he spoke as if he was agreeing with every word he said. "Because I'm _already_ a professional wrestler. I'm in WWF _development._ My wrestling name is _Ryback, _and out of respect for me being a professional wrestler, you all have to call me, _Ryback." _

Sefa fixed him with a look that would have sent a _normal _student running for his Mama. Ryback kept grinning and doing that annoying nodding thing. "Is that a fact?" He asked.

"Well, yeah," the big oaf said. "If I have to call you, Mr. Reigns because it's _your_ ring name, then everyone here should have to call me by my proper ring name, which is _Ryback._"

"Listen Skippy," Sefa began.

"Ryback!" Skippy had the nerve to interrupt to correct him. "My wrestling name is _Ryback." _

"Listen, _Skippy,_" Sefa began again, really punching the nickname. "If you were such a great, professional wrestler, you wouldn't _be_ here, would you? Professional wrestlers who know everything, don't have to come here. You're here to _learn."_

"Well," Ryback/Skippy began, then looked confused as if his brain was busy thinking of how to explain this.

"A well is a hole in the ground, filled with water," Sefa snapped. "And we've got one on the property I'm about to throw you into, if you don't _shut up_." He could hear Lance let out one snort of laughter, then a sharp "ouch" and Sefa wondered if it was Roman or Mox who had kicked him. "Now, not another word out of you until I ask you something. Got it?"

Ryback frowned and for a moment, seemed about to protest, then something inside of him must have told him he needed to heed Sefa's words, because he closed his mouth and instead decided to glare at Lance.

Sefa saw the glare and was tempted to tell Ryback to stop giving his youngest son the stink eye, then decided that would only add fuel to the fire and ignored him. As long as the guy kept his mouth shut, that was all that mattered.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

That night when everyone was gathered in the dining room of the house for dinner, Sefa warned the kids. "I want all of you to do your best to stay away from Skip Sheffield."

"Don't you mean, _Ryback?" _Mox said, keeping his face in a neutral expression.

"Because he's a _professional_ wrestler," Raven said. "So he has to be called _Ryback._ Because that's his _wrestling _name."

The corners of Sefa's mouth twitched as if he was fighting off a smile. "I see you've met him," he said, dryly. "Yeah, that's the guy."

"Skipback," Seth said.

All eyes turned to Seth and he shrugged. "It just popped in my mind," he confessed. "Skipback."

"It's perfect!" Lance said, laughing. "I'm going to call him that from now on, Skipback."

"No, you won't," Sefa said, and now his expression showed no sign of amusement. "Yeah, it's a great nickname, but it's disrespectful. The guy might be an oaf with all the class of a seasick goat, but he is right, he _is_ a professional wrestler. Maybe he's only with the OVW right now, but he's still in developmental for WWF. He does deserve respect in the camp for that."

The kids exchanged guilty looks, and then began staring at their plates as if Jen's potroast might have some advice on what to say. _They're good kids, _Sefa reminded himself. _When you were their age, Skipback wouldn't have been the worst thing you'd have called him. Cockback would have been your term for him, if not worse. _"Look, I get it, the guy is a jerk with a Capital J. But he _is_ a professional. And he has been sent here by the WWF, which means they see something in him."

"It would be nice if they told us what that was," Lance said. "Because I'll be dipped if I can see it."

Sefa shot him a warning look when the other kids were suppressing their giggles. "That's enough, Lance." Without waiting for Lance to acknowledge what he'd said, he continued. "I get it, he's a putz, but he's also a student at this camp. And you kids," He paused to look at Lance, then Roman, then Mox. "Owe the food you're putting into your mouths and the clothes you are wearing to people like him. And, paying students are what helps us to be able to give sessions away to others."

Now all seven kids were quiet and refused to give eye contact. Sefa sighed. "Again, I know he's an ass and he's done nothing so far, to earn your respect, but as a favor to me, I just want you to do your best to stay away from him. You kids have your own thing you're working on," he reminded them. "And you're going to be stars of the shows. So, you just keep doing your thing and let Skip do his. That's all I'm saying."

"We'll stay away," May said, squaring her shoulders. "Honestly, I would rather avoid him all together. He's not the type of person I want to associate with, anyway."

"Good," Sefa said, nodding. "I'll do my best to keep all of your apart, but you have to do your part, too. Just leave him to the staff."

* * *

Author's Notes: Just a reminder... this is based on the charater Ryback played, not the actual person. I don't know who the actual person is like, but even when he was a face, Ryback always struck me as a potential bully.


	11. Chapter 11

**Fakeclaimer:** Definition of Irony:

Someone writing "Your an idiot."

**Chapter Eleven**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Avoiding Ryback was easy for that first week. The kids were eating all their meals in the house, and they had their own thing they were working on every moment they could. The weather was nice, the worst being occasional quick rain storms in the afternoon, that didn't seem to bother them at all, so Sefa "gave" them Mox's favorite ring, the one closest to the house, to work with.

"It's too bad we couldn't do this for months," Mox said on Friday morning, as he, Seth and Raven were setting the table for breakfast. They had split the helping chores into two groups, because having all six of them trying to work together in the kitchen and dining room just got too crowded. Whoever set the table and helped serve was excused from cleaning up after the meal and they switched off. "Wouldn't it just _rock_ if we could have both factions in a long running rivalry?

"Yeah," Seth said, as he set the plates down in the proper places. "I wish your camp was located on my street!"

"I wish your parents would move to Florida," Mox countered. "I mean, you have relatives right across the way, you'd think your family would want to move closer to your relatives."

Seth shook his head. "Too much heat and humidity in Florida. Iowa is much better. It gets nice and cold in the winter."

"Should I be hurt that neither of you wants to come to New York or have me move down here?" Raven teased. She was pouring orange juice into glasses from a large pitcher.

"No, you can move down here," Mox said. "It's hard to have a long running rivalry when you're in New York."

"I wish," Raven said wistfully, "But my parents are devoted to New York City."

"How about you just stay here?" Mox suggested with a grin. "Your parents have enough kids, will they even notice if one or two are missing?"

Raven laughed and was about to answer, when Jen came into the dining room, carrying platters containing scrambled eggs and sliced ham. "Let's sit down to eat!" she said, cheerfully.

Mox knew Jen was enjoying having extra kids for meals, and enjoying having Raven and May stay in the house. "I'll gather up the rest of the lazy brats," he said, grinning.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Henry called," Sefa said, the moment they started eating breakfast.

"How is he doing?" Jen asked. Henry was another worker at the camp. He had never gotten far enough in wrestling to be considered as a trainer, but he worked around the place, much like Mox and Gimpy did, and he did all of the chores that were too difficult for Gimpy to do with his prosthetic foot. He normally never missed a day of work, but he'd sprained his ankle a few days ago. He had tried to work as if it wasn't bothering him, no doubt because wrestlers never let sprains stop them, but Henry wasn't a kid anymore, and it was a really bad sprain.

"The doctor upgraded it to a grade three," Sefa said, which made Mox wince. His sprained ankle when he'd first arrived had been a grade three and he was sympathetic. "I told him he's not supposed to come back until the doctor clears him."

"Good," Jen nodded, looking pleased that Sefa was putting the health of his workers over the duties of running the camp.

"Yeah," Sefa said, "I don't want him to make it worse by working, but the grass has gotten so long on the side of the house, that it looks more like a wheat field than a yard." He looked at Roman, Mox, and Lance, "Any chance one of you would be willing to do a little lawn work today to help out?" While he didn't look at the other kids, they were looking at each other, as if they felt included in this offer. "Especially to mow the side yard."

"I'll do it!" Lance volunteered almost the moment the words came out of his father's mouth, and just as quickly, Sefa shook his head.

"Anyone _ but_ you, Lance."

Roman burst out laughing and all the kids turned to look at him. "Er, what's so funny?" Raven asked, brows furrowed.

"The last time Lance mowed the side yard, he made crop circles," Roman said, speaking between laughs. "He planned it all out, so it looked like an alien solar system. _And _he did it in the middle of the night, so no one would see him."

"How could you do that without people hearing the mower?" Raven asked, looking at Lance with an expression that seemed very close to admiration.

Lance was trying to look casual, but he had a bit of a smug grin on him. "We have a few electric lawn mowers, the cordless kind. I used all of them."

"We had the electric one so we could mow the grass around the house and the camp without disturbing the campers," Jen explained. While she sounded casual, it was hard to miss the look of minor annoyance she shot in Lance's direction.

"That's kinda cool," Mustafa said. "A _major_ nerd prank."

"Thank you!" Lance said, unable to resist a grin. "I take being called a nerd as a compliment."

"Of course you do," Raven said, but she smiled while she said it.

"So, what happened?" May asked.

"Dad confronted Lance, who denied it at first," Roman said, as Sefa looked at Lance with a sour expression. "But, he finally admitted it was him. So, Dad ended up having to explain to the media that it was a joke."

"We were on the news!" Lance said, proudly. "Dad even had a few people call about the school because they _saw_ it on the news!" He looked to his father. "You got a few students out of the deal!"

"Yeah, and a _lot_ of pissed off neighbors," Sefa said, looking grumpy. "Let's just put it this way, it was a mess and it took a bit to sort it out. And there are _still_ folks on the internet who have pictures up of it and claim it was real and we lied when we said our youngest son had done it."

"Some students from MIT came down when they heard and wanted to run all types of tests!" Any pretense that Lance was ashamed of what he had done was gone by now, it was obvious he was proud of it. "Dad finally got them to go away, and I was _so_ disappointed. I wanted to help them!"

"_Help?"_ Sefa's voice raised at least one octave. "You could have _helped_ by telling them it was you!"

"What fun would that be?" Lance said.

Jen closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head as if the memory of the time was giving her a headache. When she opened them, she fixed a look on Lance. "I still don't understand why you did that," she said, "It did_ nothing_ but cause problems."

Lance shrugged and looked serious. "It was on my bucket list. Yeah, I was NED then, but I didn't trust it to last." He looked around the room, his gaze not meeting a single face, but darting from object to object as if they might understand him more than human beings. "Yeah, I planned it for a long time, but I was pretty sure nobody would notice it, or if they did, nobody would believe it was real, they'd know some kid with a lawn mower did it. But, I wanted to try it."

A silence fell across the room, then Mox smiled. "And you did it," he said. "I wish I'd been here then."

"So do I," Lance said, and then looked at his father. "I won't make crop circles or do anything wrong," he said. "I'll mow it because I owe you that much, Dad."

"_And_, he'd like to use the riding lawn mower," Roman pointed out.

"Well, yeah," Lance admitted. "It's _awesome." _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

There was more to do than just mow the side yard, there was some raking involved and Jen pointed out the front yard could stand to be mowed as well, and various other tasks. As the list lengthened, Seth finally asked if it might be a good idea if everyone pitched in and got it done together.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Jen said, looking pleased.

Sefa looked around to see what the others thought. When no one objected, he nodded. "Fine. Get it done." He looked at Roman, "But keep an eye on Lance. If he even _tries_ to do crop circles, you have my permission to punish him how you see fit."

"I'll beat him within an inch of his life," Roman said, his expression serious, but his eyes twinkling.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Don't take this the wrong way," May said, as she, Roman, and Mustafa were raking the front yard after Roman finished mowing it, "But I _love_ your brother, Lance."

"I get it, he's cute, but he's a little young for you," Roman said, grinning.

"I _told_ you not to take it the wrong way," May said, hand on her hip in mock frustration. "I mean that-"

"I know what you mean," Roman said, pausing to lean on his rake. "Lance is a horrible pain in the ass, but he's also very cool in his own, overly bright, way."

"_Nerdy_ cool," May said, nodding. "It's not like his pranks are meant to hurt anyone, they're just… smart."

"Oh, Lance isn't above crude pranks," Roman said. "But yeah, his pranks usually show he's pretty smart." There was more than a hint of pride in his voice as he spoke.

"You're really close to him," May remarked. "I'm very close to my sibs, so I get it, but some I am close to than others. I'm very close to Calvin, because we're the two oldest, and I'm very close to Raven, because we both love wrestling and we're Grandpa's favorites when it comes to martial arts. I can tell, you and Lance are closer than you and Marc."

"Yeah," Roman said. He paused and looked over at Mustafa, who was carefully raking leaves out of the flower garden so as not to disturb the flowers. He was focused on his task and far enough so it would be difficult for him to hear what he and May were saying. "I helped save his life," Part of him wondered why he was telling May this, because he usually kept it quiet, except with family members. "It was my bone marrow that helped put him and, we hope, keep him in remission from Leukemia. I mean, I was always pretty close to him, but that seemed to bring us even closer."

May looked at him, head tipped to one side. "I can see that. Our family has been very lucky, all us kids and no serious, life threatening illness or accidents. I mean, we've had more than our share of injuries and illness, but nothing that was so bad that," she paused and Roman saw her shudder, as if a cold breeze had blown over her. "-we worried we'd lose someone."

"You _are_ lucky, then," Roman said. "Because it's about the worst feeling in the world." He looked away from May and over at Mustafa for a minute, then turned back. "I know Lance is pretty straight forward about having AML, but, uh, don't mention the bone marrow transplant thing, unless he does, okay?"

"Of course," May said softly.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Gesh," Lance said to Seth as he watched Mox taking the lawn mower across the side yard. "I don't think I'm going to get a chance to use the mower!"

"I agree," Seth said, grinning, leaning on his rake to watch Mox, who had a huge grin on his face as he tried to get the lawn mower to go faster. His expression reminded Seth of a kid driving a bumper car at an amusement park. "But, at least if crop circles happen, they can't be blamed on you."

Lance snorted. "Mox isn't going to make crop circles. But, if he had the skills, I think he'd modify that thing so it could do 60 miles an hour."

"Whoo!" they could hear Mox whooping as he mowed. Both boys laughed. They were raking close to the house, mostly dead grass.

"He's really enjoying it," Seth remarked. "I hope you're not too jealous."

Lance shook his head. "I like to see Mox enjoying stuff that isn't wrestling," he said, his expression serious. "You know he was visiting his blood family earlier, right?"

Seth nodded. They hadn't communicated much while Mox had been in Ohio, but they had exchanged a few emails.

"I don't know the full story," Lance continued, "And what I _do_ know isn't something I feel right sharing, but he had some problems up there. I'm not surprised, I didn't think he should have gone in the first place. If his blood family wants to get to know him, they should have come _here_."

Seth had read in various books, the term "Mulish expression," and he thought he'd even seen examples, but he realized that the look on Lance's face fit that expression perfectly. His eyes were both narrowed and heavily lidded as if he was ready to paw the ground. Seth had the feeling that if Mox's blood family suddenly showed up, Lance would give them a verbal blasting that would sting like a sand storm. _This kid would risk life and limb for Mox,_ Seth thought. He thought the Parker girls were close and came from a close family, because they were so open about it, but he realized that while the Reigns didn't run around with open declarations, their love and devotion to each other was just as strong, if not stronger. _I know Mox has a messed up past, he's hinted at it enough that I can figure out some of it and I know it was bad, but he's got family now that would die for him and not even think twice. _

"Wow, so _I_ get to do all the raking?" Raven asked, grinning. "Seems to me that you two are doing a whole lot of _leaning_ and not a whole lot of _cleaning._"

"There's a career for you in fast food management," Seth said, grinning back. Even though the camp had been totally free for him, Seth had gotten a part time job at McDonald's back home, just to earn some money. His friends were drifting away from the backyard wrestling they used to do, and Seth decided he wanted to earn money that was better than the four or five dollars backyard wrestling earned him. He had only been working there since February, but he already had heard the expression, "If you have time to lean, you have time to clean" so much that he suspected every manager of every fast food place would have it chiseled on their tombstone.

"Really?" Raven's eyes widened in mock delight. "You think so? Screw wrestling, I wanna be the French Fry manager at Burger King!"

The three of them laughed, and Lance was about to speak, when Marc came jogging over. "Hey, Lance, can you give me a hand?"

"Sure," Lance said, dropping the rake as if he was glad to be rid of it. Raven automatically leaned over and picked it up. "What do you need me for?"

"A couple of the campers are being stubborn about doing a shooting star press," Marc said, shaking his head in frustration. "I keep explaining to them that it's about the easiest off the ground move to do, and that every wrestler needs to get off the ground at least once in awhile, but they're saying it's too hard."

"By _they_, you mean Skipback, right?" Lance said, shaking his head.

"Well, he's one of them," Marc said, looking uncomfortable about it, which told the others that if it wasn't _just _Ryback, then at least Ryback was being the most vocal about it. "Ryback is a big guy, and like a lot of big guys, he's more comfortable with his feet on the floor."

"So, you want me to demo it?" Lance asked. "Play the 'look, my prepubescent brother can do it, what's your problem, you pussy' game?"

"Yeah," Marc nodded. "But I won't put it like that."

"Dad would." Lance shrugged.

"Dad's also a wrestler with a lot of cred behind him. _I'm_ a guy who left the indies after a few years and never got far."

Seth saw Lance's eyes cloud up for a moment, then he smiled brightly. "Sure, I'll help you."

_I bet Lance feels guilty, _Seth thought. _Because I'll bet Lance was a big reason why Marc didn't stay with the Indies, but came back home instead. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Friday night at SPWA!" The familiar voice of Noella rang out over the audience, making the usual welcoming speech, and introducing who would be on commentary that night.

Normally, Mox would have listened. Even though he had heard this being said dozens of times, he still loved to just pause and listen, because every time he heard it, it was like someone ran their fingers up his spine. He'd give a shiver, but not of fear, one of pure excitement. _This_ was the start, _this_ was the signal, soon he'd be doing what he had dreamed about, all those lonely hours in the basement, the only dream that involved getting away from his kidnappers that he had ever dared to dream. Someday, he would be a professional wrestler.

But on this night, he heard Noella, but her announcement barely registered on his radar. Instead he was looking for Lance. The kid had gone off with Marc for a bit, to help Marc show some of the students a splash, and had ended up being gone most of the afternoon. At first, Mox barely noticed, he and the others were so busy putting the finishing touches on their plans for tonight, but when dinner came, and Lance was strangely quiet through it, he began to worry.

The whole table had been alive with conversation, all of the kids were excited about the show that night, and no one seemed to notice that Lance was acting different, eating quietly, with excellent manners, and not joining in on the conversation. He might have passed through everyone's radar, but Mox had spent most of his life assessing the moods of everyone in a room as quickly as possible so he would have some idea of what to expect. And Lance being quiet registered high on his scale of "something is wrong."

He had wanted to talk to him, ask him what was going on, but he didn't want to do it with other people around. And Lance had done a great job of keeping away from everyone after dinner.

But, Mox wasn't needed right at the start of the show, he had about five minutes and while he was originally going to wait, he decided that he'd rather get to the bottom of this before he was needed.

He found Lance in the control room, talking to one of the techs. When Lance saw Mox, he rose to his feet and said, "I've got to get out to the timekeeper's area."

"Not this second you don't," Mox said, hoping he sounded firm, but not upset. "I need to talk to you."

They left the control room, and were standing in the broader backstage area. "Okay, what's up?" Mox asked.

"What do you mean?" Lance shifted on his feet nervously, as if he knew exactly what Mox was talking about, but just didn't want to admit to it.

"You've been avoiding us all day, and tonight at dinner, you were acting weird." Mox spoke in a tone that implied he was giving facts, not asking or speculating. "I know you went to help Marc with the regular campers, did something happen?"

Lance started shifting even more, and looking at the ground. "Don't worry, it's nothing."

"_I'll_ be the judge of that," Mox said, trying not to sound upset.

"Really," Lance began, only to be cut off by Mox.

"Can I remind you that Dad's gonna expect me and you to be out in the arena soon?" He tipped his head to one side. "And I have no problem ignoring that and staying back here with you until you tell me. So, you have two choices, just tell me now, and we can get out on time, or you can hem and haw and piss Dad off. Your move."

"It's not a big deal," Lance said.

"Then just tell me." Mox crossed his arms over his chest and stared at his younger brother.

"Fine!" Lance looked close to either yelling or crying. "It's no big deal, I just showed the regular students how to do a shooting star press today."

"You like showing students moves," Mox said. "So, why was this time, different."

Lance bit his lip and looked at the floor. "When I was done, they called lunch. And, as I was heading back to the house, Ryback stopped me."

Mox's eyes narrowed and his voice got cold. "What happened?"

"No big deal," Lance muttered.

"Again, let _me_ be the judge of that," Mox was biting off the words. "What happened?"

They were interrupted by a shout from Roman, "Hey, Mox, we need to get in position! Dad's going to call us, any second, and Lance, you need to get to timekeeping."

Mox didn't move, except to reach out and take Lance's arm so he wouldn't run off. "I am not going and neither are you, until you tell me."

Lance drew up to his full height and let out a long sigh. "It's no big deal. Ryback just called me a skinny, spoiled, know-it-all, brat."

Mox stiffened, but did his best to hide it. "Did you provoke him?"

Lance shook his head. "I wasn't doing anything. I showed him and a couple other guys how to do the move several times and that was it. I didn't say anything specific to him, I just pretty much took orders from Marc. And I didn't say anything when we met up as I was going for lunch. He just… started calling me names." Lance frowned. "It shouldn't bother me, I mean, Roman calls me pipsqueak, and even you have called me names but-"

"-But, _we're_ family and _we_ love you," Mox supplied. "Ryback is just being an asshole."

"Yeah," Lance admitted. "But it's okay, I just got my feelings hurt. I need to grow up and get over it."

Mox frowned as Roman started heading over to them. "Okay, thanks for telling me, Lance."

Lance shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Mox, it's just one of those things. Don't confront him or anything."

"Our cue is coming any second," Roman said, sparing Mox from having to answer Lance.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"As the owner of SPWA, I want to welcome all of you to Friday Night Wrestling!" Nathan/Sefa called out cheerfully. And even though Nathan and all the Reign's family were being painted as the bad guys, the audience still cheered. Nathan let them applaud him for a moment, appearing to bask in the applause.

When the commotion began to die down, Nathan looked about the audience. "I know you've all been hearing rumors that there is an uprising in the ranks, that another faction has formed, as a protest to what they call 'The Reign of Terror,' but I can assure you, such claims are unfounded. Myself, my oldest son," he paused to motion to Marc before he continued, "And the Citadel, are in full control and these rumors of us treating them unfairly are nothing but the ramblings of losers who seem to think they deserve participation trophies just for showing up."

The audience began booing, remembering the Saturday before, and the promo showing the horrible food and discussing the demeaning and potentially dangerous tasks the other wrestlers were expected to deal with. Nathan pretended not to hear them, and looked towards the ramp. "Come out, boys, let's let this audience see _real_ winners."

_Mob Rules_ began playing, and Roman, Mox and Seth came out. As the audience had grown to expect, Seth and Roman walked with a military precision, while Mox followed along at his own easy pace. They climbed into the ring, looking smug.

"I want you all to take a good, long, look at these boys," Nathan said, puffing up his chest in boastful pride. "This is the future of the SPWA. _This is_ the future of _wrestling!_"

There were a few cheers, but mostly boos rang through the audience. Mox frowned, looking out at the crowd as if he was a little disappointed that he was no longer loved and adored as he had been before he'd joined the Citadel.

"Don't let these folks upset you, Mox," Nathan said, practically sneering. "They're just jealous that _you_ are a winner and _they're _all losers. Their lives are so meaningless and insignificant that the _sight_ of people like you, and Roman, and Seth here, people who are _important_, people who have _made_ something of themselves, just enrages them." He shook his head, looking sad, but then smiled. "At least that doesn't stop them from hitting the concession stand, and that's really all they're good for as far as _I'm_ concerned."

Roman chuckled in amusement, and even Seth gave a smug smile. Mox seemed to ponder this for a moment, then nodded and fixed the audience with a baleful expression.

"The only problem _I _have now is finding opponents worthy to take them on," Nathan said, as if this was a serious problem. "I think we all know by now, that there is nobody truly at your level, but-

Before Nathan could elaborate, the Twisted Sister song, _We're Not Gonna Take It_, began blaring from the loudspeakers, loud enough to drown out the microphones. Everyone turned to the end of the ramp and cheers broke out when Raven, May, and Mustafa came out from the back. They had microphones in their hands and they paused at the top of the ramp.

"We couldn't help but hear you in the back," Mustafa called out. "And we think you have plenty of talent here, to dethrone your precious Citadel, you just don't give anyone a chance."

"And you are?" Nathan asked, looking as if he had never seen Mustafa in his life, despite having him on stage almost every show since he arrived.

"It doesn't matter who _I_ am," Mustafa said, "What matters is who we are." He motioned to indicate May and Raven, who were staring daggers at everyone in the ring.

"Fine," Nathan rolled his eyes, "Who, or what, are all of you?"

"We are the Order of the Phoenix!" May said, her voice loud and strong.

"I read Harry Potter, too," Mox called out in a snide voice, which made a lot of the audience laugh.

"And just like a Phoenix," Raven said, ignoring Mox's comment. "We have risen from the ashes to destroy the Citadel and all it stands for!"

At that, Roman, Mox, and Seth burst out laughing as if Raven was performing a comedic act, rather than making a declaration of power. Nathan didn't laugh, but did look as if he might, if they continued. "So you three think you're good enough to take on the Citadel?"

"We don't just _think_ it," Mustafa said. "We _know_ it."

Nathan snorted, and looked at the members of the Citadel. "What do you think?"

"It's their funeral," Mox said with a shrug.

"I think they deserve a chance," Roman began.

"A chance to _lose,"_ Seth added, which made Mox laugh and he elbowed Seth in the ribs, making them both laugh.

Nathan shot them a look of minor annoyance, then turned his attention back to The Order of the Phoenix. "Fine. You'll have your chance tonight."

Mustafa, Raven and May, beamed and the audience began to roar in approval.

"Your chance to prove you're _worthy_ of a title shot," Nathan said.

The cheers turned to grumbles of unhappiness. "What?" Mustafa called out.

"Tonight, for the main event, there will be a three man tag team match!" Nathan declared. "The Citadel, vs. The Order of the Phoenix. If the Order wins, they will get their title shots at tomorrow's show. But _when_ they lose, they will no longer be in the running." He looked at Mustafa, May, and Raven and his eyes narrowed. "That's the deal, take it or leave it."

"We'll take it," Mustafa said.

The audience cheered.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox knew from the schedule, that Ryback wouldn't be in the first match of the night, but he would be in the third. Considering all the matches that they would be having, trying to give as many students as possible a chance to appear before an audience, Mox knew he wouldn't have long to confront him.

He looked on the chart to see who he would be facing, and found out it was Machete. _It will be a squash match, that's for sure, _Mox thought. Machete was a joke of a character, but Joey himself was a good wrestler and professional enough to be able to handle Ryback. _Dad must still be worried the oaf is likely to mess someone up and figures Joey is the safest bet. _ Nodding, he started looking for him backstage. When he asked another student, he was told that both Ryback and Machete were in one of the small rooms off the back that doubled as a locker room, discussing their match. Mox thanked the student and headed back.

When he got to the door to the room they were in, he didn't bother to knock, but just walked in. Ryback and Machete were sitting on a couple of folding chairs, talking, and looked up when he came in.

"Hey, Mox," Machete called out, then frowned when he saw the look on Mox's face. "Is everything okay?"

"You're fine, Joey," Mox said, fixing his gaze on Ryback. "Skip, if you ever-"

"Ryback," Ryback corrected, staring at Mox as his eyes narrowed. "I'm a _professional _wrestler, and thus-"

"Fine," Mox said, fighting himself from spitting on the floor. "_Ryback_, if you ever insult Lance again, I will make it my only mission in life to make your life miserable. You got it?"

Ryback's eyes widened for a moment, then he gave one of those bully chuckles. "Heh-heh-heh," which made Mox want to punch him in the face. "That kid is a spoiled brat," Ryback said. "He thinks he's _better_ than everyone just because he's grown up in a wrestling camp."

"He doesn't think he's better than _everybody_," Mox retorted. "But he _knows_ he's better than _you._" Ryback's mouth opened as if to speak, but Mox refused to give him a chance. "You don't have to be his friend, you don't have to like him, I'm just telling you to leave him alone, or you'll be sorry the WWF sent you here."

"Really?" Ryback gave that nasty chuckle again. "Like _you_ can do anything about it."

"_Try_ me," Mox said. "Just try me and you'll see what I can do."

Machete looked nervous, as if he wanted to be anywhere else but in this room, but stayed put.

"I'm not-" Ryback began, then stopped and really stared at Mox. "Do I _know_ you?" he finally asked. "Because you look really familiar."

Mox shook his head. "Quit trying to change the subject. I'm telling you to leave Lance alone. He's ten years old for fuck's sake, you can find someone more your size to pick on, just leave him alone."

"Are you sure I don't know you?" Ryback asked. "Maybe you've been to some of the Indie promotions I've wrestled in, and I've seen you. Because I swear to god I have seen you before."

Mox studied Ryback for a moment, and shook his head. "I never saw you before you came to this camp," he insisted. Mox had met more than a fair number of men in his early life, and even though he would like to forget them, he _knew_ their faces. If he had met Ryback before, he would have remembered him and probably wanted to kill him first, ask questions later. But there was _nothing_ familiar about Ryback. Still, a shiver went through him, and it took everything he had to keep looking at Ryback in anger, and not to let his fear show. "One last time, leave Lance alone, or you'll be sorry."

Before Ryback could answer, he turned and left the room.

When he closed the door behind him, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He had to take several deep breaths before he trusted himself to be able to act normal if anyone saw him.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I just want to take the time again, to thank everyone who is reading this. And, more thanks if you favored or followed it, and even more if you let me know you're enjoying it by review or private message. It really means a whole lot to me.

Husband is doing well, waiting to start PT for his neck and spine. I finally got to see a new psychiatrist, (TMI? too bad, most writers have mental issues of one type or another) and he thinks I might have been misdiagnosed before. So, we're trying some new stuff and seeing if that helps. So, I'm hoping we're on the path to better things.


	12. Chapter 12

**Observation:** Have you ever noticed that writing is one of the few things you can do as a hobby, that folks dismiss you if you're not professional? I've decided that from now on, if I get that, "Are you published?" sneer, I'm going to ask what hobby they have and then twist that right back on them. They like to cook? "Do you own a restaurant?" They knit or sew? "So, why don't you have your own clothing line?"

If writing is a worthy enough profession, it's a worthy enough hobby.

* * *

.

**Chapter Twelve**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth knew Mox didn't have his whole heart into the three man tag team main event that night. It wasn't that he didn't do well, Mox always did well, but in the almost three weeks Seth had been here, he'd gotten to know Mox pretty well, and he just sensed his mind was elsewhere.

The Order of the Phoenix was to win the match, and Mox had volunteered to be the one who would be pinned by Mustafa. Seth and Raven were going to both tag out about the same time, bringing in a relatively fresh Mustafa and Mox to finish out the match, and when Seth went to tag Mox in, he was looking distracted to the point where Roman had to kick him to get him to realize what was going on, and reach out to Seth.

As Mox climbed into the ring to square off with Mustafa, Seth pretended to drag himself to his feet so he was standing beside Roman. "Is it me, or is Mox distracted?" he said, keeping his head and his voice low, so no one would notice.

"It's not you," Roman said, not taking his eyes off Mox. "He's got something on his mind."

"Should we try to find out what it is?" Seth asked. "After the show?"

Roman shook his head. "Mox is really good at keeping stuff inside when he wants to." He looked at Seth, "If you want to tell him that if he needs to talk, you'll listen, that's pretty safe. But don't push him, because if you push him, he shuts himself off."

"Can _you_ get him to open up?" Seth asked.

Roman sighed. "I can do the same thing, tell him that I know there's something on his mind, and if he wants to talk, I'll listen, but that's about it."

Seth turned and looked across the ring at Raven and noticed her brow was furrowed and she was watching Mox. All six of the kids had become close, but for some reason, Seth, Mox, and Raven had gotten extra tight with each other, as May, Roman and Mustafa had followed suit and that group had gotten close. Once at night, when Seth couldn't sleep, because he was too excited about what he had learned, he'd left his bunk to go run the ropes and found Raven and Mox in the ring, talking together in hushed, very serious tones. Seth had no idea what the two of them were talking about, but something told him it was between the two of them and not to interfere. He had made it a point to make a lot of noise as he approached and the two of them stopped talking. They didn't seem to be upset that Seth had interrupted them, if anything they seemed relieved, as if they were grateful for the excuse to get off whatever subject they were on. The three of them had ended up running ropes instead and talking about nothing but the next show, the one they were doing right now.

_She knows he's off, too, _Seth thought. He caught Raven's eyes and she flicked her gaze down to Mox, then back at him, which told him he was right. Then she went back to watching Mox, who was working Mustafa over, looking as if he'd gotten his head back in the game.

The audience watched them carefully, sure that the Citadel would cheat and they had been pushing the rules as hard as they could, staying in the ring a little longer at several tag ins so two wrestlers could attack one opponent. And once, Roman leapt into the ring to break up a pin May was trying to do on Seth, but that was it. Nothing that went beyond the norm for faces or heels. May had broken up a pin that Roman tried to perform on Raven, so neither side was innocent.

Seth saw Mox getting ready to go into Moxicity, and he and Roman started to cheer, sure that they had the win. But at the last moment, Mustafa avoided the move, spun around, grabbed Mox and slammed him into the mat. Mox stayed down.

A lot of that week, Mustafa had trained with Lance, Marc, May, and another instructor, a spectacular high flier named Evan Bourne who had come to the camp at Sefa's request. The goal had been to teach Mustafa some high flying moves, and they had decided on an imploding 450 splash. Mustafa had put Mox down near the corner post and began to climb up the pole.

That was Seth and Roman's signal, and they climbed into the ring to put a stop to this, but were met by May and Raven, who made it clear with their stance that they were going to do whatever was in their power to make sure Mustafa got to do his finisher.

Mustafa stayed on the top rope, giving the audience enough time to gasp at the confrontation. Then the referee went over and told everyone who wasn't Mustafa and Mox to get out of the ring.

When everyone was in their proper corners, Mustafa leaped off the top rope, getting as much air as he could and doing an absolutely textbook _perfect _450 Splash. He followed it up by raising Mox's leg as the referee slid over.

"One! Two!" There was a bit of a pause, but the referee finally yelled "Three!" as he brought his hand down on the floor of the ring.

May and Raven ran into the ring and the three members of the Order of the Phoenix hugged each other and raised each other's arms in victory, Raven and May on either side of Mustafa, and pointing to them, letting the audience know, in case they'd fallen asleep for the entire match, that he was the winner tonight.

Roman and Seth leaned down and Lance, who had run over from the timekeeper's area, handed Roman two microphones and Seth one. They climbed into the ring as Lance ran back to his seat, and advanced towards the celebrating trio.

When they were standing in front of them, Mox rolled to his feet, slowly, looking as if he were shaking it off. Roman leaned over and helped him, handing him a microphone. Then the three of them stood in front of the Order of the Phoenix.

The crowd mostly continued to cheer for Mustafa, but when Mox raised the microphone to his lips, they quieted down. "Enjoy your victory," Mox said, with a sneer. "You got me once, it _won't _happen again."

Seth nodded in agreement. "Tomorrow night, we're all looking forward to taking the three of you out for _good."_

"You've got some skills," Roman said, as if it pained him to admit it. "But this was just a fluke. You're not better than us, and you'll _never_ be better than us." He paused to let the audience boo. He was addressing his remarks to Mustafa. "And personally? I look forward to facing you tomorrow, and showing you, you will _never_ be worthy of the SPWA championship."

Noella had subtly slipped the Order of the Phoenix members microphones and Mustafa raised his to his mouth. "Really?" he said, with a small chuckle.

May moved closer to Roman, and Mustafa stepped back. "Wait a moment," May said. "Why do you automatically assume Mustafa will be the one to challenge you for the Championship?"

Roman looked confused for a moment, then shook his head and his expression changed to one of irritation.

"That's right," May continued. "Mustafa won't be challenging you, _I _will. I still owe you for my nose."

Before any of the members of the Citadel could say a word, May, Mustafa and Raven all dropped their microphones on the mat at the exact same time, turned, and left the ring.

There was a moment of silence as if the audience wasn't sure how they should react to this news, then they all broke out cheering.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The next morning at breakfast, Mox seemed to be completely his usual self, talking excitedly about the show that night. Seth, on the other hand, debated if he should break his "Straight Edge" rules and have coffee. He might have done it, but he remembered _another_ rule he had which was "Don't make major decisions when you're really tired."

He did finally manage to pull Roman aside when they were rehearsing and ask him if he'd talked to Mox the night before.

"I did," Roman said. "And he said he was fine. I had to ask while Lance was using the bathroom, so he wouldn't barge in and ask questions, so we didn't have a long time to talk, but he seemed like whatever was on his mind, he shook it off, because he was acting perfectly normal by then." He tipped his head to one side, studying Seth, "Have you _still_ noticed anything off with him?"

Seth shook his head. "I was just worried."

Roman smiled and put his hand on Seth's shoulder and squeezed it, giving Seth a momentary insight of what it might be like to have had a brother who was only a little bit older than he was. "You're a good friend, Seth," he said, "I'm sorry you had to get run over by a reindeer to meet us, but I'm glad you did."

"Are you _kidding?"_ Seth grinned, looking up at Roman, part of him thinking, _I'm not done growing yet. I might be as tall as you, someday. _"If it means I get another month here? I'll come next Christmas and cut through their property wearing a suit made of hay and decorated with carrots."

Roman laughed, then grew serious, "I don't want to give you false hope, but Dad has talked about offering you another free session next summer."

"Really?" Seth's eyes widened. "I-I have a part time job, I was hoping to save up enough to afford to come here."

"Keep saving," Roman advised. "It never hurt to have money, but don't be surprised if you're offered a chance to come here next summer on another scholarship."

"Maybe the Citadel can form again?" Seth's voice was wistful.

"Maybe." Roman shrugged. "But, I might not be here, I could already be at college, because of football. But, Lance might be ready. I know he won't be a teenager, but if Mom will let him, I think he'll be ready."

"Two high fliers and a brawler," Seth mused.

They might have talked further, but they were standing outside, far enough away from the ring that Mox couldn't hear them, and he noticed they were both standing there. "Are you guys gonna shoot the shit all day?" he called out, "or practise for tonight?"

"The boss calls," Roman joked. "We'd better not keep him waiting."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

At the end of the Saturday night show, the Order of the Phoenix held all the belts and the crowd was behind them. Sefa was proud of the whole group for how they handled it. He'd been worried about the match between May and Roman, that it would be impossible for them to make it look like a fair fight, with the size difference, but what May lacked in height, she made up for in her moving abilities. At one point, Roman almost got her with a spear, but at the very last second she leaped up and over him, which caused him to run straight into the northeast ringpost, and even though they had worked that move all week, even Sefa found himself gasping as Roman slammed into the post, looking for all the world as if he had no clue May would be able to get out of his way so fast.

When they all filed backstage, Raven was holding her tag team belt with a wistful look on her face. "I wish I could keep this forever."

"Sorry," Sefa said, "But they're too expensive to just give away."

"I'm not worried," May said with a grin, as she patted her own belt, which was slung over her shoulder, "Raven, this is just the first of _many _belts we're going to win."

"If you keep going the way you are?" Sefa commented, "you will." He looked around the group. "All of you will." He nodded, then added, "well, maybe not Roman, since he's insisting on this _football_ thing." He made football sound as if it were something nobody had ever heard of, and as he expected, everyone laughed, even Roman.

"Enjoy them while you can," Mox said, eyeing the belts closely, "You're not going to hold them very long."

"Yeah, well, they're safe for now," Sefa remarked. "They won't lose them until next Saturday night. That gives the Order a whole week to lord it over the Citadel. And a whole week for me to decide if I'm going to disown you for bringing disgrace upon the academy." The entire group laughed and Sefa chuckled, shaking his head. "Again, you all are great. And, the show is over, why don't you guys clean up and head to the mess hall for midnight breakfast?"

As the kids scattered towards the locker rooms, Jen, who had been talking to Noella, came over and put her arm around her husband. "I'm sorry, you can't adopt all of them."

"I'll settle for one," Sefa said, wrapping his arm around her now, and drawing her close.

"Me too," Jen smiled. She and Sefa had decided when Mox came back that they were going to legally adopt him. Donna Miller had signed over custody of him to the Reigns, but custody and legal adoption were two separate things. They had a family lawyer who had advised them to give Donna a few months to grasp that she had gotten her long lost son back, only to lose him again. The Jen who was a mother understood that. The Jen that was _Mox's_ mother felt different. "I hope we'll be able to ask him if he wants his name to be Jon Moxley Reigns this Christmas."

"Me too," Sefa said. "It would be one hell of a Christmas present."

"For all of us," Jen agreed.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

As the final week began, Mox found himself caught in this strange feeling that straddled between euphoria and sorrow. He was excited and eager for the weekend, when the Citadel would win their belts back, but, that would also signal the end of the Order of the Phoenix. Mox wasn't worried about finding another group to feud with, he was sure that getting factions started from future campers would be easy enough, but the Order was different. They were _friends_ now.

Seth was more than a friend, Seth had become like a brother to him. Raven was close to a sister, too. But May and Mustafa were friends, good friends as well. When the six of them (or seven, if Lance was hanging around) were together, Mox felt comfortable, like he was with a gang of people who liked him.

He'd had Faulk up at Heartland, but that was one person. Sure, he could have joined in with some of the other kids, but most of them were heavy into partying, and Mox didn't want to take that risk. So, it ended up being mostly him and Faulk hanging out and drinking coffee.

Even though Mox was sixteen, due to his strange lifestyle, he'd never had a gang of friends, at least not that he could remember. Maybe he'd had a gang of friends when he was in kindergarten, but they had been long forgotten.

He had seen Roman often with a group of friends, he had a lot of them. Member of the football team, kids in school that weren't on the football team, but were still friends of his. Wherever Roman went, it seemed like groups of kids would gravitate towards him. Mox wasn't used to that. Sure, he'd had Faulk when he was in Ohio, and he had the feeling that if he'd been as interested in partying and having a good time as some of the other teenager wrestlers, he might have ended up with a gang of friends, but that hadn't happened.

Now though, he had a group of kids near his age, and all of them seemed to want the same thing, except for Roman, they all wanted to be professional wrestlers. It wasn't a passing fad either, as he'd suspected it was with a bunch of teens that had been at the camp before. Seth had expressed frustration that the group he'd grown up with, who all swore wanted to be wrestlers, were starting to drift away, acting like wrestling had just been some dumb kid thing. May and Raven had similar stories, friends that thought they were crazy for their love of wrestling. Mustafa didn't speak much about it, but Mox got the impression most of his friends might watch professional wrestling, but he was the only one of his group who actually wanted to _be _a professional wrestler.

The group of them worked together so much, and stayed away from the regular campers that it often felt like they were an elite group, the best of the best, working together because they were holding up the show. Sure, the regular campers might be older and more experienced, although probably not much more than some of them, but it was the Citadel and the Order of the Phoenix that were the cornerstones of the weekend shows. They were the ones that kept the crowds pouring in, so the others could get exposure.

There was something heady about it, and sometimes Mox realized that he was walking around the camp with a bit of a swagger, which he was sure was making him look like a gold plated asshole, so every time he caught himself doing it, he would stop and tell himself to calm down. He could just imagine how that doofus Ryback would react if he ever caught him swaggering around the camp. Mox was pretty sure he'd be running to Sefa so fast that he'd be leaving flames instead of footprints, ready to cry and complain that he was a professional wrestler, and these stupid kids, Mox in particular, weren't showing him the respect he deserved.

Mox was pretty sure Sefa's reaction would be to tell "Skippy" that if he brought him a toothpick, he'd whittle up the world's smallest violin and play _My Heart Bleeds Purple Piss_ just for him. But, the last thing Mox wanted was to cause a problem for the camp. Ryback was just the type of guy to badmouth the camp to anyone who would listen when he was gone, and Mox knew that was exactly the type of thing that could hurt the reputation of the SPWA. He knew he'd taken enough of a risk telling Ryback to leave Lance alone, but he also knew that if Lance had told _Roman_ what had happened, Roman might have tried to take Ryback's head off. And, Mox was pretty sure that even an idiot like Ryback would know better than to brag about telling off a _child_.

So, Mox did his best to just avoid Ryback, which hadn't been hard at the beginning, but for some reason, this last week, when Mox had so much to do, and so little time for the likes of people like Ryback, it seemed like every time he turned around, he saw him. Heading out to the ring in the morning after breakfast, the whole group of them, and there would be Ryback, heading to the gym from the mess hall. Heading to the house for lunch and Ryback would be by one of the outdoor rings, supposedly watching what was going on, learning something, but he'd be staring at Mox. Mox just kept making it his job to ignore him.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

By Wednesday afternoon, Mox's head was a soup of ideas for the weekend mixed in with the feeling that this week was rushing by way too fast.

"Hey, are you okay?" Seth asked him as they headed towards the house for lunch. "You seem occupied."

Mox shrugged. "I have so many ideas for Friday and Saturday that we couldn't possibly do them all.

Seth grinned. "I get it, I feel the same way. I just wish we could keep this going a lot longer than we are. I think the Citadel and the Order have a lot of life in them."

Mox was about to answer, when an angry voice interrupted his thoughts. "Watch where you're going, you snot nosed brat!" His head automatically swiveled in the direction of the voice. He already knew it was Ryback, and he was pretty sure who the 'snot nosed brat' was.

As he suspected, it was Lance and Ryback. Lance had been requested to work with Marc that morning, and Mox just _knew_ what had happened, Marc had told him to go to lunch. Being Lance, he'd run off and since also being Lance, his brain was probably partly in the clouds, he wasn't looking and ran into Ryback, who was likely heading to the mess hall.

Mox didn't hesitate, he ran over. Seth hesitated a few seconds then followed. "What's going on?" Mox demanded when he got over to Lance and Ryback.

"I _said_ I'm _sorry!"_ Lance said. "It was an accident!"

"Oh, sure," Ryback snorted, ignoring Mox for the moment. "You keep bumping into me, kid. I know you're just angry because I called you out for the brat you are. I mean, you sent him after me," at this, Ryback jerked his thumb in the direction of Mox, and did not speak, as if pointing and talking at the same time was impossible. "And I backed off, but today you _deliberately_ ran into me. Probably trying to show that you can do whatever you want, because your daddy owns this place."

"It was an _accident!"_ Lance said again, but his shoulders slumped and he stared at the ground.

"It takes two to bump into each other," Mox said, trying to be diplomatic and defuse this situation before it attracted too much attention. "I'm sure neither of you meant to run into each other. And none of you seem hurt, so let's just say it's over and all is well."

"This kid is going out of his way to be a jerk!" Ryback said.

"I am not!" Lance cried. "I've been going out of _my_ way to stay out of _your_ way!"

"Lance, why don't you go to lunch," Mox suggested, hoping Lance would just do it and not question. "I can straighten this out."

"Are you su-"

"Go to the house for lunch!" Mox said quickly, his voice lower and a little more forceful.

Lance turned and began heading back to the house. By now, Seth was here, and while Mox hoped he would leave as well, he didn't.

"Yeah, run to your Mommy and Daddy!" Ryback called out in a sneering voice. "Tell them how the big, bad Ryback was picking on your sorry little ass."

"Ryback, shut _up!"_ Mox yelled before he could stop himself, "He's just a _kid_, he doesn't know any better." Secretly, Mox knew Lance was the one who was wronged here, but he thought it would be easier to just let Ryback be the victim. Maybe later, Ryback would be smart enough to realize how idiotic it was that he was lashing out at someone who was a lot shorter and probably weighed ⅔ less than he did, but that day wasn't today. Let him be victim, if it got things resolved.

"Hey, who are you to tell _me_ to shut up?" Ryback snapped. "I know you're the owners kid, but just like your brother you need to learn some respect, I'm a _professional_ wrestler after all. I outrank you."

"This isn't a military camp," Mox protested. "And this is stupid."

He half expected Ryback to snap back that maybe it wasn't a military camp, but he still was owed respect, and indeed, Ryback's gaping maw he called a mouth did open, but no words came out. Instead he shut it and stared at Mox.

"See something green?" Mox asked.

"Holy shit!" Ryback said, and he looked stunned. "_Now_ I remember where I've seen you before. _You're_ Little Timmy!"

Those last three words caused Mox's blood to freeze and his stomach to begin boiling. He wanted to leap on Ryback, kick him, punch him, slam his fists into him until he reduced the man into a quivering, bloody pulp. But all he could do was stand there as he felt his world crumbled around him. _I should have expected this. I should have known this was going to happen to me! But I didn't. And I've been pretending since I ran off, that there was no evidence of my past. _

"No, he's Jon Moxley," Seth said, defending his friend. "He's not Timmy, why would you think his name was Timmy?"

"Jon Moxley might be his real name," Ryback said, chuckling as if he was privy to a fantastic private joke. "But his _film_ name is Little Timmy. He's a superstar! He's in a whole bunch of movies, most of them _really_ hard to come by, unless you know the right people, if you get my drift. I had a friend who found a few of his older ones on the internet." He looked at Mox. "_Little Timmy Tames a Cougar_ was a good one, but if I had to pick a favorite, I'd say it was _Little Timmy Teaches Safe Sex_. Shit, that girl didn't look old enough to be in High school."

Seth began staring between Mox and Ryback, hoping one of them would explain things.

Mox finally broke free of the spell that seemed to have frozen him into place since he'd been called "Little Timmy." He turned and ran off, away from the house and away from the camp as fast as he could.

.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: Yes, am posting this a day early. We're having electrical work done on the house and any time I might be losing power, which means no internet. And I can't go to Starbucks because I have to be home while the work is being done. They say I'll only lose power for six to eight hours, but I know how that goes. If something goes wrong, I might lose it for a few days. It's happened before.

And... now you know where Ryback has seen Mox. And that Ryback is too much of an idiot not to realize you shouldn't go blurting around that you were watching child pornography. And, I will warn folks now, the rating on this story will be changing to "M" in the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Head Up: **_I am changing the rating of this story to "m." No, it does not have a lot of graphic sex scenes, but it deals with the topic of child pornography and it's pretty blunt, or as blunt as I dare make it. _

**Warning: **_There is some rough stuff coming up. I tried the best I could to project the horror of the situation, making it realistic instead of sanitizing it. So, yes, some crude language and yeah, squicky stuff. If child abduction/kidnapping/sexual abuse upsets you, I'm going to do the smart thing and tell you that you might want to skip this. I haven't tried to glorify it, or make it seem normal in any way, but still, it's tough. It was tough for me to write, and I fully understand why it might be very tough to read._

* * *

.

**Chapter Thirteen**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_Timmy never liked making movies, but he found what he had to do in these "movies" to be far worse than the actual filming itself, and he also knew from listening to conversations between his dad and Sam, that the movies were important. _

_The movies were keeping him alive._

_Most of his early movies had the same plot, and it wasn't really fictional. He was a kid being forced to have sex, usually with a man. Sometimes a woman, or even several men or two or more women. They were filmed carefully so as not to show the face of the people forcing him. Sam said that it was because their watchers wanted to pretend it was them doing it, not some actor, but Timmy also knew instinctively, that wasn't the real reason, the real reason was that these people didn't want anyone watching to know it was them. Apparently, it wasn't dangerous for _his _face to be seen, but it was for the people he made movies with. And while Sam and his father used him regularly, sometimes separately, sometimes together, they _never_ allowed themselves to be filmed. _

_As he got older, the movies slowed down as well as the amount of guys who didn't make movies, but just wanted to fuck him. Timmy was getting close to puberty and these people wanted younger boys. _

_That was why he put up with the hair removal on his whole body, the lack of food, even the childish, stupid, haircuts. He wanted to be thrilled that his "services" were no longer in demand, but he also knew that if they should slow down too much, he would be in very serious trouble. _

_Both Sam and his father had told him that once he was older, after he'd hit puberty, he'd like sex a lot more. That wasn't the case, but sometimes his body seemed to have a will of its own and he'd respond to things, especially on the rare occasions when he worked with women. He always felt awful when it was over, ashamed and dirty, but while it was happening? It was like something took over and he'd find himself lost in the wave of pleasure that sometimes took him away from this reality for a few seconds. _

_At one point they were staying in a place that had great acoustics to the basement from the kitchen and he spent a lot of his time on the top stairs, listening to Sam and his father. __He started hearing Sam talking about how he, Timmy, had been with them much too long and perhaps it was time to replace him. His father always tried to dismiss it, saying Timmy still had "a lot of life in him," but Sam was getting insistent._

_That was when Timmy knew beyond a doubt, that these movies were saving his life and if he was no longer good for movies, he was no longer useful. That was when he formulated a plan. He didn't like it much, but if it worked that would be all that mattered. He would stay alive. _

_The house they were staying in was well off the beaten path, more secluded than their usual places, so his father had gotten in the habit of letting Timmy come upstairs for one meal on his eating days and while Sam didn't seem thrilled with this, he didn't try to stop it, either. One night while eating one hard boiled egg and a piece of toast for his meal, while Sam and his father ate large, greasy, double burgers they had brought home, and fries that made his mouth water just smelling them, Timmy spoke up. _

"_I know I'm not as popular for movies and stuff that I used to be," he said, trying not to stammer, and to sound casual, as if this was just occurring to him now. "And I know it's because I'm getting older." Both Sam and his father had stopped eating and were giving him their undivided attention, something he really wasn't used to, and made him sorry he'd brought the whole thing up, but he had and it was too late, so he swallowed and bravely continued, "And, maybe I have a solution." _

"_You shouldn't worry about those things," his father said. "You're the child. That's the type of things me and Sam need to work out." His father had even reached out and rubbed his hair. _

"_No, let the kid talk," Sam said, looking at Timmy as he spoke, eyes narrowed, but glittering. "He's right, his usefulness as a kiddie dicksucker is nearly gone. Go ahead, Timmy, tell us your idea." _

"_Well, every time we watch one of those movies where an older woman seduces a younger guy, you both like it, and joke about how you wish you'd had your own 'Mrs Robinson.' I'll bet there are a lot of other guys who wished that had happened to them when they were younger, and I was just wondering if there were enough of them that if I made movies… where I got what they wished for, if they'd watch them, you know? Put themselves in my shoes and imagine they were the ones having adult women hitting on them." _

_His father scoffed, but Sam didn't. "No," Sam said, stopping Timmy's father from his objections. "I think the kid has got a good idea here. I don't know if it will bring in the cash his early stuff did, but I think there's an audience for what he's gonna sell, and not a whole lot of people trying to supply the demand. We might even be able to draw in a bigger audience. Kids close to his age that won't think there's anything wrong with Timmy being younger, because he'll be their age." He had pushed aside his burger by then, and lit up a Marlboro. "Yeah, I think this has a lot of potential. It might not last long, but there's some money to be made while it does." _

"_We're going to have to find more women," his father said, warming up to the idea. "Most of our clients will want to see Timmy being seduced by an older woman, not a guy." _

"_Easy enough," Sam said, shrugging. "There are enough old whores out there who lost their standards along the way, but still have some mileage on them. They'd never do kiddie porn, but a teenage boy? That won't bother them. Most of them probably remember fucking teenagers when they were the same age. They get it, teenagers like to fuck." He took a deep drag off his cigarette, then blew the smoke out of his nose in two cloudy streams and then held out the pack to Timmy, who took one and then handed him the lighter. "Someone here has a head for business," Sam said, grinning as Timmy lit up. "But, here's the hard part… can you enjoy it or at least fake it? I'm not stupid, I know you like women better than men for sex, so that will help, but you're going to have to pretend you really like this. Sure, you can play reluctant, but when game is over and you and whoever we get to make movies with you start fucking? You're going to have to look like you are having the best time, ever." _

_Timmy inhaled on the cigarette and blew out the smoke in an imitation of Sam's exhale, and he nodded, hoping he looked serious. _I am serious, _he thought. _This is life and death.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth hadn't waited to see what else Ryback might have to say about Mox being Timmy and his film career. He wanted to find Mox, talk to him, but he wasn't sure he was the best one to reason with him. They were friends, but he wasn't sure if Mox would open up with him about that, because it was pretty nasty stuff. He hurried to the house instead, knowing everyone would be gathered for lunch and not quite sure how he'd be able to alert Sefa without telling too much to Lance, Roman, and the others, including Jen, who would likely flip out.

As it turned out, he didn't have to come up with a clever way to separate the family. He must have looked awful as he ran into the house and into the dining room, because Lance looked up at him and scowled. "Is Mox all right? What did that dill weed Ryback say after I was gone?"

Seth ignored Lance, but this had caught the attention of Sefa who looked at him. "What's wrong, kid?"

"I need to talk to you," Seth said. "Alone and right now. _Please?_ I wouldn't be asking if this wasn't important."

Sefa rose from the table and the two of them walked out on the front porch, away from everyone. "What happened?" Sefa asked. "Is Ryback shooting off his big mouth again?"

Seth nodded. "Sir, as we were heading back for lunch, Ryback and Lance were getting into it. Either Ryback ran into Lance or Lance ran into Ryback, and Mox was doing really well at trying to straighten it out. He sent Lance to the house and tried telling Ryback to ease off, you know? Just a kid, no harm done, that type of thing."

"Yeah, I get it, Sefa said, "But what _happened?"_

Seth gulped. "You know Ryback, he's."

"Strong as an ox, smart as an ox?" Sefa impatiently supplied.

Seth nodded. "But… today he claimed he remembered Mox and that his name was Little Timmy." As he spoke, Seth thought he'd never seen someone look like Sefa did. Angry, scared, and murderous all rolled into a very pale face for a man of his coloring and a glint in his eyes that suggested he really wanted, no _needed_ to mess someone up, and that someone was Ryback. "He-he told everyone in earshot that Timmy was a movie star and he'd seen some of his movies. And… uh… they sound like… uh…"

"Porn," Sefa said, his voice flat, "They sound like pornography, right?"

Seth nodded. "He said he'd done a lot of them, and he mentioned two of them, _Little Timmy Tames a Cougar_, and _Little Timmy teaches safe sex_. Mox freaked out and ran off and I have no clue where he went, He looked like he was heading down to the woods."

Sefa nodded, his eyes narrowing. "Okay, Seth, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to go into the dining room, and ask Roman to come out here. Then, I want you to eat your lunch like nothing is seriously wrong. Tell Jen I'll talk to her later. Under _no_ circumstances are you to alert Lance or any of the others about this. I know that won't be easy, but you'll have to try. Do you think you can do that?"

Seth wasn't sure he could or not. "I will do my best," he said. "I don't think I can stop Lance from being worried, but I won't tell him… what Ryback said."

Sefa nodded, looking grim, then put his hand on Seth's shoulder. "You're in the thick of things, from what you overheard. And you may end up overhearing more. But, no matter what you hear, you need to remember that Mox is a _good_ kid. A good kid who was living a _terrible_ life. The type of life that nobody wants to live and no parent wants to think their kid ever went through. The type of life where you grow up way too fast in all the wrong ways, and not enough in the right ones. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Yes," Seth said, although he wasn't quite sure he did.

"You're his friend, Seth, and I'm just saying, stay his friend, okay? No matter what comes up in this, understand that Mox is a good person who was thrust in a very bad situation. and he needs friends that will understand that and stick by him. Can you _be_ that friend, Seth? Can you stick by him?"

Seth nodded. "I haven't known him for long, but he's become the brother I always wished I had." He felt a little overly emotional for saying it like that, but it was the honest truth, and he had a feeling that was what Sefa needed to hear.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Lance knows something is up," Roman said, as he came out onto the porch. "Hell, _everyone_ does, and Seth was trying to play it cool. What's going on, Dad?"

"We've got some big shit going down," Sefa said, squinting as if he was looking at Roman, but not really seeing him. "I'm not going to pretend you're an innocent little boy, Roman. You're not."

"Okay," Roman frowned, suddenly getting a shiver, even though it was a hot Florida afternoon. "What's going on?"

"Apparently, when Mox was Timmy, those sadists who kidnapped him used him to make movies. And Ryback has seen a couple of them and shot off his mouth about it."

Roman felt the blood drain out of his face, and he found himself leaning forward and putting his hand on the rail of the porch so he wouldn't fall. Knowing what he did about Mox's past, he knew exactly what type of movies Mox had made. "Ryback _bragged_ about it? About watching child porn_?"_

"I think the ones he saw were made when Mox was older. Probably not much younger than when we met up with him. Ryback is about as sharp as a bowling ball. Little brain, big mouth." Sefa shook his head. "But _I'll _deal with him."

"What about Mox?" Roman asked. "Is he okay? Where is he?" His brows furrowed, and he found himself chewing on his lower lip.

"He ran off towards the woods, according to Seth," Sefa said, letting out a long sigh. "I need you to find him. I know Lance knows the woods and all the trails better than you do, but-"

"But you can't send Lance for this," Roman finished for him, nodding.

Sefa nodded as well. "Take Seth with you, if you think it might help you find him faster."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Lance knew something was up, and he knew it involved Mox. He had been told that after lunch, he was to take the members of The Order of the Phoenix off and work with them, helping them to smooth out what they planned to do for the weekend.

"Me and the Citadel have something we need to take care of," his dad said, his voice firm, but not unkind. Lance saw a line on his forehead creased deeply, the line Lance used to see almost all the time when he was sick. Or when it was time for Lance's "wellness" check up with his Oncologist, or when Roman was limping from football and trying to pretend he wasn't. Or when there were problems with the camp. It was a worry line. And, considering that Mox hadn't showed up for lunch, after Lance had left him confronting Ryback, it wasn't hard at all to figure this one out. Ryback had pushed the envelope and said or done something that really upset Mox, so he'd run off.

And, while Lance desperately wanted to pester his parents into telling him what was going on, he also knew from the worry line and his father's tone, which had none of it's usual bluster, that Lance could see through like cellophane, he knew this was serious enough that it wasn't necessarily all about keeping information from Lance, it was because Mox was hurting and the reasons were more serious than Lance's desire to know what was going on. Which, when he thought about it, was a better reaction than he would have had at the beginning of summer. Back then, he would have protested, and done everything he could to find out the answer. He guessed he'd matured emotionally, which was a good thing.

However, just because he was emotionally mature enough to realize he would make things worse by pestering his family for answers, it _didn't_ stop him from wanting them anyway. And, even though he knew this was a family thing that Seth had gotten involved in, which was okay, because Seth had or was becoming like another brother to Mox, he couldn't stop himself from talking about it when he and The Order of the Phoenix went to the outdoor ring they liked to use.

"You guys know this is a bunch of crap," he said, as the four of them got into the ring. "They're trying to get us out of the way, and keep me from asking questions. This isn't about my training you, this is about _Mox_."

"Yes," Mustafa said, in his usual both quiet and sincere tone of voice that just made you like him, even if you hadn't planned on it. And if the voice wasn't enough, he also had the right smile too. In this case, the smile conveyed sincerity, concern, and a touch of sympathy. "But, we-" he paused to indicate May, Raven, and himself, "-don't really know anything."

"It's Ryback," Lance said, his voice dull, "I bumped into him today. Well, maybe he deliberately got in my way, but we ran into each other, literally. And he gave me crap. Mox came along and told me to head to the house, that he'd take care of it. Well, I think Ryback said or did something, and that upset him enough that he ran off."

"That sounds likely," Raven said, and Lance could tell she was trying to keep her voice neutral. But, her brows were furrowed, showing she was worried. She and Mox had become pretty good friends as well. "Is, uh, Mox prone to running off when things get to him?" She flushed for a moment, realizing how that might have sounded, "I don't mean run away or anything, but does he go off by himself when something happens? Does he have a spot or place he likes to go where no one is likely to find him?"

Lance shook his head. "If he's upset, he comes to this ring and runs the ropes. If this ring is being used, he'll find another one. We just know he's upset by looking at him, and we leave him to do it. He knows if he needs to talk, all he has to do is find one of us and we'll talk to him. But he doesn't disappear."

"Something must have bothered him to the point where he doesn't even want to be seen." May said.

"Yeah," Lance agreed. And he had the feeling it had something to do with Mox's past, because it always seemed that when you got to the root of any problem with Mox, it related to his past.

Lance had never told anyone, but he'd put together that Mox's past involved more than just enforced slavery and lots of unpleasant chores. He knew his brothers and his parents liked thinking that even though he was smart, that he was still an innocent kid and Lance didn't really mind that they thought that about him. But, he wasn't _that_ naive and he had done a lot of research about kidnapped kids on the internet and most kidnapping seemed to involve sex trafficking.

Just the thought of that made Lance feel so horrified, that he tried not to allow his brain to go much further than Mox's kidnapping had involved sex in some vague way. He didn't want to speculate or imagine exact details, Mox was his brother, and thinking about _that_ was a sure fire way to drive himself insane. Most of the time, Mox was cool enough and seemed happy enough that Lance could ignore the whole sex thing and sometimes, even forget that Mox had been kidnapped at all. That he was just another brother who didn't join the family until he was older. Like he'd been in plastic like an action figure until the day he came to live with the Reigns.

But, when something like this happened, when Mox got _this_ upset, it made those dark corners in Lance's mind start to peel back and try to picture what had happened to Mox in his past. And he didn't want that to happen, that was just nasty and it wouldn't help _Mox_. Mox had a shit past, but Lance knew one thing about him, Mox didn't want sympathy, and if Mox could, he'd never have told _anyone_ what had happened to him. Heck, Lance would have been willing to bet everything he owned that if it were medically possible, Mox would have his mind erased of the entire time he was kidnapped.

"I want to look for him," Lance blurted out. "But my parents don't want me to. So, I have no idea what to do."

"My advice?" May said. "Don't give your folks something else to worry about, they have enough. They have the situation under the best control they can. Don't be the wild card that makes things worse even though they meant to make them better."

"Easier said than done," Lance said, sighing.

"Tell me about it," Raven agreed.

"I know I'm supposed to be working on wrestling with you guys," Lance said. "But I just don't want to do it. It's like if I can't look for Mox, then I don't want to do anything. But you guys can work on stuff."

The Order nodded, but nobody made a move to do anything other than sitting in the ring, worrying about Mox.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

As Sefa had expected, Ryback came into his office walking with that swagger he had and being his normal, blustering self. "Hey, Reigns, if this is about the kid, it isn't my fault, he ran into me."

"Mr. Reigns," Sefa corrected automatically, his eyes narrowing, "And while I doubt you're as innocent as you like to pretend, Lance is not my concern, Mox is."

Even though he had not been invited to do so, Ryback sat down on one of the chairs so he was across from Sefa, who was sitting behind his desk. "_That_ kid needs to mind his own business too," Ryback said, rolling his eyes.

"Skippy," Sefa said, his voice cold, "Shut your _fucking_ mouth, and _keep_ it shut until I say so."

Ryback's mouth opened in surprise, but no words came out. He just sat there, staring at Sefa as Sefa glared at him.

"I doubt you're as innocent as you're making yourself out to be when it comes to Lance," Sefa said. "But right now, Lance is small potatoes. My shit with you is about Mox. What the hell were you doing, spouting about Mox making movies? And yeah, you can speak now, you fucking shitheel."

Ryback honestly looked surprised and shocked, which made Sefa think he was likely the _stupidest_ human being on God's green earth. "It's him," he said. "He made movies under the name of Little Timmy, but it was Mox. I'm good with faces and Mox and little Timmy are the same dude."

"And you would classify the movies as porn?" Sefa asked him.

"Oh yeah," Ryback smirked. "You have to have connections to get your hands on most of these movies. I've only seen two of them. He did a bunch when he was younger, but I don't go for boy sex and I don't go for gay sex, which most of those are, from what I've heard."

"For fuck's sake, Skippy, you _do_ know Mox is a minor, right? And therefore, he made all those films when he was a minor?" Sefa normally tried to keep the swearing down to a minimum, mostly because if he swore at his students like he wanted to, he'd get in the habit and start swearing around the family, and Jen was not going to put up with that. But right now, he didn't care and allowed himself to cuss as freely as he wanted. "Which means it's _all_ child pornography. Which, sick shit aside, is fucking illegal as hell to own, or even watch."

"His earlier ones, I wouldn't be surprised," Ryback said. "But the couple I saw? He wasn't _that_ young. Sure, they wanted you to think he was a kid, they dressed him in stuff a kid might wear, but way too big for him, and stuff, but if I had to guess he was at least fourteen or fifteen, maybe even seventeen or eighteen."

"How could he have been eighteen then, if he's sixteen now, you dunderfuck!" Sefa knew his voice was rising in volume enough that it might bring Jen running, so he reminded himself to lower his.

"Well yeah, _now_ I know he couldn't have been eighteen," Ryback said, looking as close to sly as he probably got, like he was about to deliver the line that would make him the winner of this argument. "But when I was watching them, I _thought_ he might be eighteen."

"Yeah, _that_ would fly with a judge," Sefa snapped, although he wasn't sure if there was a steady law about that, or if it was handled on a case by case basis. "Skippy, you were out there, telling the world that you watched child porn. Are you _really _that stupid?"

"Again, I didn't know for sure it was child porn!" Ryback blustered. "And even if he was thirteen or fourteen, lots of kids that age have sex. I know_ I _was banging girls when I was _twelve."_

Sefa was sure that last line was bragging, and Ryback probably hadn't lost his virginity until he was at least fifteen, but he let that go. "Do you really think Mox was a willing partner in these movies?" he asked. "That he _wanted_ to do them?"

"It sure looked like it to me." Ryback shrugged. "In the first one I saw, he had sex with this woman who was old enough to be his mom. He sure looked like he was having fun, and it was called _Little Timmy Tames a Cougar_, which sure makes it sound like he wanted it. And the other one? _Little Timmy Teaches Safe Sex?_ His co-star was a _lot _younger than him. So, maybe_ she_ was the victim, not him."

"Good lord, I think you only have six brain cells and you need five of them to keep you breathing," Sefa snapped. He realized he would be getting further if he was arguing with a brick wall, so he decided to get to the point. "I want you out of this camp before dinner," he said. "So pack your shit. Someone will take you to the airport where you have a ticket waiting to take you back to Ohio." Ryback's mouth opened, but no words came out, so Sefa continued, "Don't worry, I called OVW and told them I'm sending you back because there's nothing more I can teach you." _Which, is true in a way, I don't think he's able to learn much more than he already knows, the dumbass. _"I _did_ not and _will_ not tell anyone in the WWF about this whole thing with my son. As far as OVW and the WWF is concerned, you're coming back because you're just too advanced for me to teach you anything. But, in return, you will keep your big fucking mouth shut about everything. And if I ever hear about you blasting your mouth off about Mox's past again, I will do everything in my power to make sure you never wrestle again, except maybe in the lowest places in the indies. You'll be lucky to be wrestling bears at a county fair when I'm done with you. And if you don't believe me? Just _try_ me. I may be retired, but I have friends. And if that doesn't work?"

At this point, Sefa's voice rose again, higher, but just below Jen radar as he angrily threatened everything he could on Ryback, from having him arrested for being a pedophile, to having someone break his kneecaps with a baseball bat, all mixed in with a lot of very colorful language. Sefa wasn't sure if Ryback knew what a pedophile was, and probably thought it was someone with a foot fetish, but it didn't matter, Ryback got the point and ended up leaving the room, head hung low, and no evidence of his earlier swagger.

The second the door shut, Sefa was on the phone, calling down to the sheriff's office and getting Aaron on the phone. "Aaron, I have a huge favor to ask."

* * *

Author's Notes: I know a lot of folks want to see Ryback arrested, but it's hard to get someone arrested based on what a few people say someone said. And, the WWE/F has invested time and money into Ryback. For the sake of the business, and probably even to help save Mox even more embarrassment, I see Sefa as someone who would just do what he could to diminish the problem. Sending Ryback back to Ohio is the best way he can start.


	14. Chapter 14

**Warning: **If you thought the flashbacks in the last chapter were hard to read, these are probably going to be even harder. Yes, you can skip the flashbacks and still follow the story. The story might lose some of its impact, the flashbacks are there for a reason. But if it upsets you, yet you still want to read the story, that's one way to make it more palatable.

_General Information_: I know it's Thursday, not Friday, my usual update day, but I might be switching to Thursday for this story.

* * *

.

**Chapter Fourteen**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_Timmy knew something was up. He had no clue what it was, but he knew it was something big. He was used to this sort-of situation, knowing something big was about to go down, but not what it was. The only given was that it would be something he wouldn't like. _

_He could hear voices upstairs as he sat on the bed. The voices had been happening for a few days. He hadn't been let out of the basement either, not even to make more "movies." Nor had anyone come down to be in movies with him, or to just have sex with him, That suited him just fine. He was tired of these new movies too. They were a little better, because most of them involved him and older women, and they weren't about him being beaten and abused, but he'd rather not make movies at all. _

But if you _don't_ make them, you die,_ he reminded himself. They had found a niche for him, but that wasn't going to last forever, Maybe they could pass him off as thirteen now, but they could starve him or shave him all they wanted, he wouldn't stop growing up._

_He was taller than he should be, which was an issue too. Sam told him way too many times that if he was just a short kid, they could pass him off a lot easier, as if Timmy could stop himself from growing. They were doing what they could to put the adults he worked with on step stools or having them wear platform boots and shoes, if there were any standing scenes involved and doing whatever they could with the cameras to make him look shorter and his co-stars look taller._

_He laid back on the bed and stared at the ceiling. This wasn't a bad basement, compared to some of the others he'd stayed in. It was a finished basement, although the floor was still cement, and there was a bathroom down here, which was a lot nicer than having a bucket with a toilet seat attached to it, like he usually had (which came with humiliation, shame, and constant groveling to thank Sam or Father for being willing to clean it out, as if he was only shitting or pissing, just to make them work.) They had made his "bedroom" in the corner, putting down a huge navy blue rug, that would look like wall to wall carpet when it was filmed. The old furniture he'd started with, dresser, desk, bed, had all been replaced. Now he had bulky, over-sized furniture that was painted and made up to look like children's furniture, with bright colors and childish stickers on them, like cartoon dinosaurs. More attempts to make him appear small. His bed now was a full sized, extra long bed, with a heavy headboard that was painted blue and had even more decals of cartoon dinosaurs marching across it. He had a special set of sheets that were white, and because it was impossible to find children's sheets that long, they had found iron on decals of those same cartoon dinosaurs that he had on his headboard, and put them on the sheets and on a pillow case. A king sized pillow case, for a king sized pillow, again, to give the illusion that the full bed was really just a twin. A baby blue comforter completed the set, but all the bedding was only to be used for filming. Otherwise, he had a few old and worn blankets he could use on the bed when he was alone. _

_There were fake "windows" back lit with tiny yellowish lights, that had sheer curtains on them, so they would look like sunshine was coming into the room, and that the room wasn't a basement. _

_The boy knew that significant money had gone into making "Little Timmy's" room and even though he was supposed to be older in the movies he did now, twelve or thirteen even, they still made the room look as if it were done for a six year old. There was an over-sized toy box with a few toy trucks inside, that they would pull out and put on the lid if they were filming. He was ashamed to admit it, but sometimes, when they weren't filming, he would take the trucks out and play with them. It wasn't that he liked playing with children's toys, but it was something to do. If he wasn't making movies, and wasn't allowed upstairs, the days got very long indeed, especially if "Father" wasn't allowing him to watch his video tapes on the TV/VCR combination that only seemed able to play tapes, and couldn't get any regular TV. _

Why don't you want them to just kill you? _he thought. It wasn't a harsh thought, it was one he'd been having for a long time and barely bothered him. Why not just let them kill him now that he was getting too old to be useful? All he was doing was prolonging the inevitable. It wasn't like life was fun now, it was pretty much doing things he really didn't like and then long, boring stretches of time. He had his wrestling tapes, for times when they let him watch them, but he was even starting to get bored with them. Not with wrestling itself, that was great, but he'd seen these tapes so many times. His favorites were now unwatchable they had been played so many times. His least favorites were getting awful glitchy too, along with any movies his father approved of. Except for the porn movies, like his own and others similar enough. Those were in good shape, mostly because he only watched them when his father put them on to get himself "In the mood." _

_He got up from the bed and went over to his tapes looking at them, seeing if there was one he hadn't watched a billion times, that might actually be somewhat interesting. _

_The voices upstairs began getting louder, sounding as if something was going on. Timmy paused, his hands on a movie. He listened, straining to hear what was going on. He longed to run to the top of the steps, because up there, he could hear more, but he was afraid that the increased volume meant that Sam, his father, and whoever else they were talking with, were going to come down and if they even suspected he'd been listening, he would be in serious trouble. But, he stood as still as possible and strained to hear. _

_The voices got louder, along with some scuffling noises, that told Timmy they were getting close to the basement door, probably in the kitchen. He left the tapes and flopped on the bed, trying to look as if he might have been napping. _

"_Jesus Christ, this kid never tires!" _

_That, he heard clearly and he knew they weren't talking about him. His blood froze and he knew, things were just about to get As Bad As They Possibly Could. _

_The door opened and light streamed down into the basement. "Bring her down here," he heard Sam saying. _

_Timmy sat up and did his best to look sleepy, as if he had just woken up from a nap, but he watched as two strangers, two very large guys came down after Sam, one of them carrying someone wrapped in a blanket, someone small, who was wiggling and making noises that sounded like they were coming from behind a mouth taped shut with duct tape. _

"_Hey, Timmy!" Sam called, sounding almost jovial. "We've got something for you. Someone new for your to play with, a new co-star for your movies." _

"_I-" Timmy started to say, and stopped. He was going to say he didn't need a co-star, but that was stupid. Of course he did, no one was going to buy a movie just to watch him masturbate, that got old, quickly. _

_The bundle the one guy held though, sure didn't look like it was adult sized. And the struggling was all wrong too. The adults who made movies with him were all eager to work with him. Nobody had to be bound and gagged. _

_The guy holding the bundle came over to the bed. Timmy jumped up as if the bed had become hot lava, as the man threw the bundle on the bed. "So, you're Timmy?" the guy asked. He had a hard, cold, mean, face, but his eyes were glittering in that predatory way so many men he'd met did. He didn't wait for Timmy to confirm who he was, instead he pulled the blanket off the bundle, as if uncovering a wonderful surprise. He even shouted, "Tada!" like a magician Timmy had once seen in a movie. "For you!" he added. "Your next costar, meet Suzie." _

_Timmy looked down at the bed and wanted to scream. There was a girl lying on the bed, obviously younger than him, with that very, very blonde hair only children seemed to have, put into two simple braids, that were a bit messy now, due to her struggling while wrapped in the blanket. He couldn't see what color her eyes were, because of the low lighting in the basement, but he could see they were wide and terrified. There was duct tape wrapped around her head to cover her mouth, more than one layer, and her hands and feet were secured with zip ties. Still, the girl bucked and moved as much as she was able to, struggling as hard as she could._

"_Ain't she a beauty?" the other stranger asked, looking at the girl as if she were a delicious pastry, something he could consume. _

"_You are one lucky boy," It was his father's voice now. He had come down the stairs while the girl had been thrown on the bed and unveiled. "She's pretty, isn't she? And they just got her less than a day ago. She's cherry, too, at least as far as we know."_

_It was a day where Timmy wasn't allowed to eat, but he still felt the water he'd been drinking to stop the hunger pains churning about in his guts. "Sh-she's too young," he protested, which of course made all four men laugh as if Mox had told an extremely funny joke. Mox had made a few movies with other kids, but they had all been in the same age group. These guys and Sam and his father would think she was a great age, but Mox didn't want to make any of these movies with someone younger than him. Almost all his movies, he'd been the youngest, doing things with adults and while he'd rather avoid the sex at all, he'd rather have to be with adults that wanted to be there. Adults had a choice. This… child on the bed had no choice. And he knew what cherry meant. They had just taken her and thus she probably had no clue what was going to happen to her. _

"_You are one lucky dude," the guy who had brought her down said, his gaze going over the girl, eyes filled with that hunger Timmy usually saw directed towards him. "It took everything I had not to break her in the second we took her. But, your father and Sam make a good argument for keeping her pure. The two of you are going to make one hell of a film and she'll be busted right in front of the camera." _

_Timmy looked towards the girl, whose eyes flickered in terror. He wasn't sure if she knew what sex was, but he was sure she understand that being "broken" and "busted" in were bad things. Muffled noises came from under the duct tape. "I-I don't want to do this," he said. _

_The guys all laughed again, but his father gave him a hard look. "You should be thrilled, Timmy. Do you know what this girl is worth in this condition? I know a hundred guys who would pay hundreds of thousands for the chance to break her in, but we're going to let you do it." _

_Even though Mox knew he was playing with fire, he couldn't help it, he shook his head, protesting this. This girl looked fresh, innocent, and her terror filled eyes didn't reflect back that dead look the other kids he'd "filmed" with had. _I don't want to destroy her, _he thought. _This isn't right, why can't she stay what she is? Alive and full, not empty inside? _ He looked over at his father with a desperate look. It wasn't often, but on very rare occasions, Timmy could get him to side with him. Of course, about the worst thing he'd tried for, was to not have olives put on a pizza, but it was worth a try._

_His father's eyes held no compassion in them at all. Instead they glittered, and Timmy saw him rub along the front of his pants, which were starting to strain_. He's getting fucking wood, _he thought, knowing it was hopeless. _He wants to see this, wants to film it. He wants to fuck this girl himself, but he wants to watch _me_ do it to her first.

"_Timmy, she's near your age, this will be fun," his father said. "Do you know how many boys your age would love a chance like this?" _

"Then let them have it!_" he wanted to scream, although that wasn't a solution he wanted either. He didn't want to fuck this girl, but he didn't want anyone else to do it, either. _

"_You said the kid would love this," the one who hadn't carried the girl in spoke now, and he sounded irritated. "You said he'd do the job right and we'd make huge money on this. You didn't say he was going to whine like a little bitch."_

"_He's just a bit shocked," Sam said. "He's never broken anyone in before, he was always the main attraction. He just has to get used to it. Look, the girl is safe down here. Let's untie her and leave the kids alone for a bit. Let them get to know each other. Timmy will get with the program, and he'll convince the girl to save the fight for the camera." _

"_No," Timmy said, shaking his head. _

_His father had gotten closer to him, and he suddenly reached out and grabbed Timmy by the shirt and pushed him backwards into the wall. "Listen, son," he said, making "son" sound like something vile. "You are going to do this. You are going to break this girl in, and introduce her to the business. Because tomorrow, you and 'little Suzie' over there are going to make a movie. And she's going to be your little sister. And you're going to make sure she understands that she's going to be allowed to fight at first, but by the end, she'd better be sucking your dick and letting you fuck her like she loves it, like she depends on it for her very survival." _

"_Which it does," Sam said. _

_His father ignored Sam, he had Timmy pushed so hard against the wall, and Timmy's feet weren't on the ground, and he was trying to get purchase with the tips of his toes. Timmy could smell beef and onions on his breath and as much as it repulsed him, it also made his stomach gurgle, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and all he'd eaten then was a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of bug juice. "Listen to me," his father said, blasting more of that beef and onion breath into his face. "You are going to do this. Because if you don't? The four of us guys are going break her in instead. And you damned well know we're a lot bigger than you are, and we like it a lot rougher. She'll be broken in by the time we're done, and she might be busted up for good. And, if that isn't enough, we'll make you watch. So, what's it going to be? Are you going to show her the ropes? Or are we?" He pressed his hips into Timmy and he could feel the cruel hardness of him, straining along his thigh. Timmy knew how dangerous he could make it, he'd been the victim of his father's sexual rages where nothing satisfied him, and he just wanted to make sure it hurt, and the more it hurt, the more Timmy bled, the more he liked it and the rougher he got. Timmy knew that his father wasn't lying, if he didn't show this girl what she needed to do, they would all show her instead, and they wouldn't care how much it hurt. They might not even care if they killed her. _

"_I-I'll do it," he said, and even though he couldn't see her over his father's shoulder, he could hear the girl's muffled cries grow louder and more frightened under the duct tape, and hear her struggling against the zip ties. _

"_Good boy." His father let go of him, and Timmy almost fell to the floor, but caught himself at the last moment and steadied himself against the wall. "You and Suzie have the night for you to let her know what's going on and what's expected of her. And if the two of you decide to play some games early, don't take it too far. We want that cherry busted _on_ camera." _

"_Fine," Timmy said, trying not to sound scared as his father let him go, letting his feet hit the ground. _

"_What?" his father asked, the one word going up at least an octave from start to finish._

"_Yes, sir," Timmy said, then just to be safe, added, "Yes, Father." _

_His father nodded, a look of satisfaction on his face. He turned to the strangers. "Release her and leave them alone."_

_The one who hadn't carried "Suzie" down, pulled a hunting knife with a black blade out of a sheath and came over to the girl. Leaning over the bed, he showed her the knife. "We're going to free you," he said. "But if you get any cute ideas, I will fuck you up. I still owe you for the kick to the shins. So, be good and you won't get hurt… at least not now." He slid the knife under the duct tape, towards the back of the head, Timmy noticed, no doubt to keep from the girl's face getting cut. When he finished cutting, he grabbed the end and yanked the tape off her mouth, which made Timmy wince at the ripping sound, knowing it had to be painful. _

_She was lying on her back, which meant her hands were zip tied behind her and she was laying on them, which had to hurt. The guy with the knife smiled as the girl just stared up at him. "Good girl," he said. "Keep that mouth of yours, shut if you know what is good for you." _

_She pushed her head into the mattress as far as she could, then jerked it forward, and spat into his face with a look of defiance. _

_Timmy was shocked. Surely the girl knew it was hopeless, yet she defied her captor anyway. Timmy wasn't sure if it was the stupidest or bravest thing he had ever seen. _

"_You bitch!" the guy roared. He wiped her spit off his face, then curled it into a fist, ready to punch this girl. Without thinking, Timmy found himself ready to spring, but thankfully, before he could, his father grabbed the guy's arm and pulled him away. _

"_Don't be an idiot," his father said. "Don't knock the fire out of her yet, let her get in front of the camera first." _

_The man was alternating quick glances between his father and the girl. "But the bitch-" _

"_-It's just _spit,_" his father finished. "Not worth damaging the good, not worth risking she'll be messed up and limp in front of the cameras. You're right, she's high quality merchandise, but going limp never sells as many copies as fire for a first time film."_

"_I want to go home!" the girl suddenly screamed. "I want to go home,_ now!"

_Timmy was both terrified and amazed at the girl's defiance. He remembered way back when, that had screamed, but he didn't think he'd ever been _this_ uncooperative, and he was suddenly ashamed of himself. He was so docile now, so complacent. This girl was so much younger, and she had so much defiance in her. _

"_Take me home nooooow!" the girl screamed, and let the middle of the word "now" ring through the basement for what seemed like a minute or more. _

_The man with the knife finally had enough and stepped around his father and slapped the girl, hard across the face, startling her so she stopped and began crying softly instead. "Shut the fuck up, you stupid little bitch!" _

_His father reacted quickly, grabbing the guy and taking the knife away from him, before the guy could protest or turn it on him. "Calm the fuck down, you asshole!" his father growled, and while Timmy didn't like any of this, he was glad his father was yelling at this guy, glad he'd taken the knife away from him. His father was upset, but he was still in control, the stranger wasn't. And someone running around, out of control, and carrying a knife, was bad news. _

_Realizing he now was at a disadvantage, not having his knife, the man scowled, but said nothing. Timmy's father turned to the girl and smiled at her. "It's okay, sweetheart, everything is going to be just fine. But you have to be a good girl." _

_Suzie wasn't having any of it. She glared at his father. "Take me home, NOW!" _

"_Sorry, I can't do that," his father said, voice soft. "Your home is with these men now, your family doesn't want you anymore."_

"_No!" the girl screamed. "My mother _loves_ me, she wants me home, NOW!" _

"_Sorry," his father said. "You were wrong. She doesn't want you. But don't worry, your new Daddies will take good care of you. So will my son, Timmy. He likes pretty little girls, and you sure are pretty." And before she could say anything else, he grabbed her, flipped her on her stomach and cut the zip tie around her wrists. Timmy could see the deep, red, welts and knew she had worn those for awhile. _

And she still had that much fight in her,_ he thought, his feelings between admiration and irritation. _

_She looked at Timmy's father, looked at the knife, and suddenly her defiance seemed to drain out of her. She said nothing, just sat up and rubbed her sore wrists, eyes round and scared, as the ties around her feet were cut. She remained silent, even as the four men headed up the stairs. _

"_She'd better understand the score by tomorrow," Sam said, as they were going up the stairs. "And she'd better not give us any more grief, or we'll take it out on you, Timmy. Got that?" _

_Timmy nodded, swallowing hard to try to get rid of the lump in his throat. He knew Sam was telling the truth. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"I think we need to split up," Seth suggested when he and Roman got to the woods to look for Mox.

"How do we signal if we find him?" Roman asked. His lower lip was starting to look a little swollen where he'd been biting it, obviously worried. "I want to be the one to talk to him. No offense Seth, I know you and him are close, but I've known him longer and I think I have the best shot to get him to come home."

"No offense taken," Seth said, biting on his own lip for a moment. "I'll tell you what, I'll be quiet and if I can spot him, I'll text you. I mean, I don't know the woods like you do, but I can give a general description of where we are, and you come. Once I see you, I'll just disappear and go back to the house and let everyone know that you found him. Does that work for you?"

Roman put his hands in his jeans pockets and found his cell phone. "Yeah," he said, "That works. And we'll cover a lot more ground if we separate."

Seth nodded hesitated, wanting to ask Roman something, but not knowing how to ask him. "Is.. uh… Mox likely to hurt himself?"

Roman knew about the self inflicted wound Mox had on his thigh. "I can't say for sure, but I don't think so," Roman said, hesitating himself, "_Please_ don't think Mox is crazy for this, Seth. _Please_. He needs people who treat him like everyone else and if you knew what he's been through, you'd realize how sane he is, all things considered."

"Don't worry," Seth assured him. "I know Mox. I don't know his past, but I _know_ Mox. And I know he's good people and while he can play crazy with the best, he's still a great guy and the crazy in the ring is an act. We're friends, Roman. The three of us, and like it or not, you and Mox are stuck with me in your lives."

Roman allowed himself a weak smile. "We can run, but we can't hide?"

"Something like that," Seth said. "So, is Mox a danger to himself?"

"Probably not," Roman said. "But he did hurt himself deliberately, once, so I can't say for certain he won't."

Seth nodded. "Okay. I-I'm not judging him. I just want to be prepared, you know? In case he's hurt."

"If he really looks hurt, call 911," Roman said. "_Then_ text me."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_The moment they were alone, Suzie jumped off the bed and started looking around, seeing if there was any way to escape. She ran into the bathroom first, then came out, looking disappointed as if she expected it would have lead to an outside exit. Then, she started tapping on the walls and trying to see if she could find a way to open the couple painted over windows at the top of the basement. _

_Timmy watched, but said nothing. She had to do this, he knew it. He'd done the same thing probably the first ten or more times they'd gone to a new place. Looked for a way to escape. There never was one and he knew now there never would be. But even though he knew it, he still made a half hearted attempt at every new place, just in case. He knew Suzie's efforts were useless, but he also knew she had to realize this for herself. _

"_Why are you just sitting there?" She finally said to him, sounding angry. "Get up and help me!" _

"_There's no point," Timmy said, shaking his head. "I've been down here for awhile and if there was any way out, I'd have found it. The only way into this basement is through that door at the top of the stairs and they've locked it tight by now." _

_She looked at him with a cross of anger and fear on her face. "There has to be a way," she said, going back to kicking at the cement walls as if they might crumble and lead to a secret exit. _

_She had sneakers on, not bare feet like he usually had, but thankfully even sneakers couldn't make much noise against a concrete wall and that was all he cared about, that she didn't make enough noise that they would come down. He sat on the bed, watching her, because it was something to do, and waited for her to tire herself out. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Aaron had done almost as much swearing at Sefa as Sefa had done at Ryback when he found out what Sefa wanted. But Sefa didn't take it personally, as he hoped Ryback did. He knew what he was doing and what he was asking of Aaron.

"Look, if Mox's fucking 'career' as a child porn star is popular enough that some lunkhead wrestler knows about it, this could be a huge pile of shit on its own. I mean, he was underage, so I don't think the kid is in any legal trouble, although I worry about when the case with Dennis comes up. But, the court of the general public? If he's a teenager and it looks like he's having a wonderful fucking time, he's gonna be found guilty. And that can have a really _wide_ splashback."

"I know," Sefa said, mostly to let Aaron know he was still listening. He knew Aaron had to rant it out of his system before he'd get to Sefa's request.

"I just… oh fuck this is a mess," Aaron said. "Not just for Mox, but it could be bad for you, your business, your family. Shit, if the FBI has copies, and they probably do, considering they monitor the net for this stuff, they're probably looking for him."

"I know," Sefa said again, sensing Aaron was running out of steam. "And we'll deal with that as necessary. He's our son, and we'll stick by him, same as we'd do if it were Lance, Roman, or Marc who'd gotten into this mess. In the meantime, can you get me copies of those movies?"

"This will be one of the most potentially career damaging things I've ever done in my life," Aaron said. "If you were just requesting stills of his face, I could get that pretty easily. But you really _want_ to see the actual movies?"

"Yeah," Sefa said. "I have to know what I'm dealing with. From what Wrestler X told me, Timmy was acting like a pretty willing participant." He was keeping his promise to Ryback, identifying him to Aaron only as Wrestler X, and he had a feeling Aaron was relieved about that too. "I have to see it with my own eyes. And I promise, I will erase them when I'm done. Hell, I'll have Lance erase the whole hard drive when I'm done."

"I know, and I trust you," Aaron said. "But this will look really weird if it gets discovered. What would you tell the FBI if they came around, finding out you were watching porn of your adopted kid?"

_I'd tell them the truth, _Sefa thought. _I'd tell them that some things you have to see with your own eyes and this was one of them. Because I know that boy well and I need to see what is going on. I know he's the victim, but does he look like one in front of the camera? How bad is this going to look if it leaks out to the general public? Enough people will watch it and accuse, I want to know if they have a basis to judge or not. _ He knew that this was not the time to try to explain this to Aaron, who would no doubt say it was useless bullshit and that wouldn't help at all. "I'll worry about that. Look, Aaron, if this is beyond you, or beyond what you're comfortable with, we'll drop it right now."

"I didn't _say_ that," Aaron said, "I _said_ it was something that could bite us hard on the ass. But, your my friend, and I guess I kinda get why you need this. I'm not going to bring copies to your house, so you'll have to come down here to watch them. I'll see what I can do. And to let you know, best I'm likely to get are jury safe copies."

"Jury safe?" Sefa asked, having a good idea what that meant, but wanting to be sure.

"Yeah, copies that have been cleaned up enough to show a jury, to give them an idea. Faces will be clear along with any very distinctive marking in areas that can be seen with a bikini or pair of speedos on, for ID purposes, at least that's what I'm going to try for. Usually with minors they blur the faces too, because rarely does the jury have to identify a minor, they're the victims and need to be protected. But, I should be able to get copies with the faces clear, I have enough clout with Miami to do that. But the genitals and other things deemed delicate will be blurred out. Language will be cleaned up too, although just like TV, it's pretty easy to figure out what words they were saying. The idea is that they can show parts or all of this to a jury and that fragile Southern Belle on the jury won't swoon in horror. Is that enough?"

"Enough?" Sefa's relief was so palatable, he could taste it and it tasted like cool, fresh water. "That sounds perfect. Honestly, Aaron, I don't want to see graphic film of my kid having sex. I just… have to see this with my own eyes."

"Okay," Aaron said, his voice brisk now, as if he wanted to end this conversation and just get on with it. "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, Aaron," Sefa said.

* * *

**Author's Notes**: I have no clue who Little Suzie is. At this point, she's a little girl who has been kidnapped by some very bad people. At this point, this is the only story I plan on her being in. Of course, I might change my mind, but again, at this point, she's not anyone special. She's not a future wrestler or actress or anyone. At this point, it doesn't matter what she becomes, she's just another victim of a messed up world. If later, I decide to make her somebody, I will. But right now, she's supposed to be the little girl we all were or the little girl we all knew or know. She's someone's daughter, possibly someone's sister... and she's been thrust into a life no child deserves.


	15. Chapter 15

Sorry this is posted so late, the last few days have been hectic as all git out 'round here.

**Warning: ** Intense flashbacks here. Intense chapter all together.

* * *

.

**Chapter Fifteen**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_There was no clock in the basement, so Timmy had no idea how long Suzie raged and tried to find an escape, but he had a feeling it was a few hours and would have gone longer, but she'd been fighting and struggling all day, and just wore herself out._

_She finally came over to the bed and sat on the edge of it. Timmy automatically moved over to give her room. "My name isn't Suzie," she said, "It's-" _

_Timmy moved as fast as he could, sitting up and slapping his hand over her mouth. He hoped he didn't hurt her, but if he did, too bad. She couldn't tell him her real name. "Don't!" he told her. She tried to speak over his hand, and she was looking terrified again, so he spoke rapidly, "you _have_ to be Suzie. I can't ever think of you as anything but Suzie and you have to convince your… uh… new Dads that you don't remember your name. You have to answer to the name Suzie from now on, and you _can't_ slip up. Not once. Do you understand?" he waited until she nodded, then lowered his hands. _

"_Why?" Suzie asked, looking puzzled. "Suzie _isn't_ my name." _

"_It is for now," he said. "And if you don't learn to make it your name, they will do whatever they can to make you forget your old name. _

"_What can they do?"_

_He hesitated, part of him wanting to spare her, but knowing that he had to really make sure she understood what danger she was in. "My father and his friend beat me with an electrical cord, while I was chained to the ceiling," he said, trying to keep his voice level. "I had a closet they used to lock me in too, and I tried to write my other name on the wall. My dad found it and beat me until I passed out, and he got rid of what I'd written. Let them think you believe your name is Suzie. Teach yourself that is your name. That way, you can keep your other name a secret they won't know you still remember." He didn't tell her that she was probably going to screw up at least once or twice, either not respond to the name Suzie or maybe they would test her, like they had him, by calling her by her real name, and then punishing her for responding to it. They wouldn't call her by her real name for very long, but they would likely brutalize her badly when she failed the test. _

_She was older than he was when he was taken, and that might work to her advantage too. He figured that the longer you'd had your real name, the less likely you were to forget it, but he still didn't want to know what her real name was. If he knew it and mistakenly used it, then they'd both be in trouble._

_She was silent, seeming to absorb the information. Her eyes were red rimmed, they had been when she had been brought down here, which told him she'd done some crying before she got here. He wondered if she had been transported in a box, bolted into a van, like he was. You could cry in the box, and if you weren't too loud about it, you could get away with it. "What is going to happen to me?" she asked, her voice a whisper. _

_Timmy could have lied, but he remembered the first film he had been in. He'd had no warning, he'd just been grabbed, his pants yanked down, his shirt ripped off, and his body brutalized and violated. He wasn't sure if it would have been better to know what was coming or not, but he knew when it was him, he was certain he was going to die. And he wasn't even sure if he was glad that didn't turn out to be the case, that he was still alive. Maybe it would be better to let her know? She knew he knew what would happen, and thus, she would know if he lied. He sat up a bit and looked at her steadily. "Do you know what fucking is?" _

"_That's a bad word!" she admonished him, which made him want to laugh, something he rarely did, but just managed to choke off. _

"_Sorry, Suzie, you're going to hear that word a lot. All the time. Along with a lot of other words that are worse," he said, trying to keep his voice steady and emotionless. He decided to try another tactic. "Do you know what sex is?" _

_She nodded, looking worried. "That's how men and women make babies." _

"_Yeah," he agreed, "But do you know how it's done?" _

"_The man puts his penis into the woman's vagina," she said, with a voice that said while she knew this, at this point in her life, she thought this act a little unbelievable and very disgusting. _

"_Yeah," Timmy said, nodding. "And that's what is going to be done to you." He didn't mention the other stuff, the oral sex, the anal sex, the other ways your body could be penetrated. Hell, he'd had someone ejaculate in his ear once. He wanted her to know what was going to happen, but he didn't want to freak her out to the point where she shut down, which he sensed after all she'd been through, could happen. _

"_No." She shook her head firmly. "That is only for adults to do and I'm not an adult. Neither are you." _

"_It doesn't matter," Timmy said, wishing someone else could have explained this to her, and spared him. "A lot of people like having sex with kids like you and me. Or, they like to watch other people having sex with kids. They don't care that you're too young, being too young is the entire point." _

_She trembled, but part of Timmy was sure that while she heard him, her brain hadn't entirely wrapped around this whole concept. "But it's bad," she whispered. "Nobody is supposed to do that to kids, it's really, really, bad." _

"_Yeah, it is, but it is going to happen." Timmy thought since Suzie had that brain numbness going on, he might as well be blunt. "You are going to have sex. You will not be given a choice." _

"_W-with who?" she stammered._

_He swallowed hard. "Me." He wanted to look away, but he forced himself to continue to look into her eyes. "Tomorrow, they are going to bring cameras down here, and film you and I having sex." _

_Her brow furrowed. "Do you _want_ to do that to me?" _

_He shook his head. _

_He saw the glimmer of hope come into her eyes and he could have predicted her words, but he let her say them. "Then just don't!" she said. "Tell them you don't want to!" _

"_I can't," Timmy explained. She was starting to tremble more, and he took the thin blanket from the end of the bed and wrapped it around her as he spoke. "Well, I could, but that would be worse. Because you know those four guys that were down here with us? If I don't have sex with you, _they_ will. All of them, one right after the other. And they won't be nice about it, either. They will hurt you and enjoy it, too. The more painful it is for you, the more they'll like it." _

"_S-so you're going to hurt me instead?" She pulled the blanket tight around her, her eyes starting to fill with tears. _

"_I don't want to hurt you," he said, moving away from her, now that she was holding the blanket over herself. "I can't say it won't hurt, because you're not used to it, but I will try to do everything I can to not make it hurt as bad as it could.. My, uh," he struggled to remember the word the girl had used, knowing it was the real word, not slang, "penis isn't as big as those guys, so that will help it hurt less. And, I'll do anything else I can to make it easy as possible." If they were going to let him do what he wanted in this, as they often did with these later films, he knew tricks to make it easier. He would do whatever he could for this girl, knowing how horrible it was going to be, no matter how gentle he was allowed to be. "I don't want to do it," he admitted again, "But I don't want them to do it to you instead of me." He did not tell her that they would probably have their turn with her anyway, after the first movie was made. There was only so much she could be expected to understand. He also didn't tell her that if it was done right, there might be a time when it didn't feel all that bad either. Because that was often the worst part of it, hating it, wishing it wasn't happening, but having this oddly pleasurable feeling too. That was when you felt the most like dying. _

_She fell onto the bed, blanket wrapped tightly around her, shaking and silent. _

_Timmy rolled away to give her as much of the bed as he could. He knew she was trying to process this nightmare world she had been thrust into and there wasn't really much he could do. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

There was a tree fort far in the woods on the property that Roman had discovered when he was thirteen, probably built for kids back when this was a horse farm. As far as Roman knew, Lance hadn't found it yet, because it was that far in the woods and the area so overgrown that he hadn't gone that far. But Roman wondered if maybe Mox had found it. So, when he and Seth separated, he headed right for the fort.

When he got there, he saw the knotted rope, used to climb to the top, was hanging. "Mox!" he shouted, "Mox, are you there?"

He heard nothing, but he also knew when Mox was upset to the point where running ropes wouldn't help him, he could shut down, send his mind somewhere else. So, Roman climbed up to the top and pushed open the hatch door that lead inside the fort.

Mox was there, much to Roman's relief, but he didn't look good. He was sitting on one of the benches built into the wall, knees drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped around himself as if trying to make himself as small as possible. He was rocking too, and Roman wasn't sure if he was aware that he had entered the place.

Roman walked over and sat down next to him. "Bro," he said, trying to keep his voice soft, steady, and gentle. "Are you okay?"

Mox responded by trying to wrap his arms tighter around himself, and speeding up his rocking. _Okay, it's bad, _Roman thought, _But he knows someone is here, and that's a good sign. _ He pulled out his cell phone and texted Seth, letting him know that he'd found Mox and Seth should go and tell the family that Roman wanted to talk to him before they came home. He didn't tell Seth that he was unresponsive, he figured that would put the family in a panic and they'd insist on finding them. He also told Seth that he was turning off the phone, because he didn't want to be disturbed. Then, he shut off the phone and put it in his pocket.

As he sat next to Mox, Roman wondered what he should say, what would get Mox to respond. He wanted Mox to know he cared, but he didn't want to sound like some therapist or parent. As his mind worked trying to figure it out, Mox continued to silently rock. "Wanna go and kick Ryback in the nuts?" he blurted out, because Roman realized that was exactly what he wanted to do right now. Kick that motherfucker Ryback in the nuts so hard he'd forget he ever knew Mox.

More silence, more rocking, but then Mox stopped and looked up at Roman, his eyes wet, but the tears not spilling. "Rome, I've fucked up so badly." A few tears spilled as he said the words.

"You did _not_ fuck up," Roman said firmly.

But Mox either didn't hear him, or pretended not to hear him and kept talking, "I _knew_ they were making movies of me, I _knew_ they sold them. I knew it like I know water is wet. But I didn't think about it when I ran away. I didn't think about the fact that people actually _watched_ these movies and they would recognize me. That's where I fucked up, and I fucked up _big_ time."

"No, you didn't," Roman insisted stubbornly. "_They_ fucked up. Simon and Dennis. They _made_ you make those movies, you didn't want to. And you were a kid! You were a victim, and Ryback ought to be ashamed he admitted to watching them."

Mox sniffed hard, and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his t-shirt. "I wasn't a little kid when I did all of them." he said.

"Okay, but you were fifteen when we found you," Roman said. "How long before we found you did you make your last one?"

"About three months or so," Mox said, again sniffling hard.

Roman rummaged in the pocket of his shorts and pulled out a bandanna he used sometimes to keep sweat out of his eyes. He handed it to Mox, who took it and blew his nose. "It doesn't matter," he said. "Even if you did one the day before we found you, you were _still _a kid."

Mox stared at him, bandanna balled up in his left hand. "Are you a virgin, Roman?"

Roman squirmed, feeling uncomfortable. He knew where Mox was headed,but it still made him uncomfortable. He probably wasn't as experienced as Marc had been at his age, but he wasn't innocent by any means. And if he didn't have football and lately, helping out so much around the camp, he'd probably have a lot more. "No," he finally admitted.

"How old were you?" Mox asked, not taking his gaze off Roman.

Roman ran his hand over his chin. "Fourteen, but I was almost fifteen."

"And were you forced?" Mox asked.

Roman shook his head. "But that's different. And I was with a girl my own age, not an adult. And neither of us were forced." _Awkward and awful, yes, but not forced. _

Mox drew in a sharp breath. "Remember I told you that I'd met other kids before? I told you that like the first or second night I lived with you and your family." When Roman reluctantly nodded, Mox continued. "What do _you_ think happened with those kids? That we played Monopoly and went on our merry way?"

"Yeah, but they were all being forced too," Roman pointed out. "And you were all around the same age, right?" Mox just stared at him and Roman had the uncomfortable feeling that there was something weighing on Mox's soul, something deeper than what he was saying. "Look, it doesn't matter," he finally said. "_We_ know the truth, Mox. You were a kid and you had to do what those assholes told you to do."

"You know that, but the rest of the world doesn't," Mox said. "And anyone who's seen some of my movies, that's what they'll judge me by. In the earlier ones it was pretty obvious I was a victim. But the last bunch, those I was doing them to save my fucking life. Because I _knew_ I was too old for the business and I knew Dennis and Simon would never let me go alive. So, I did whatever they wanted. Including acting like this was the best thing that ever happened to me. Instead of being Little Timmy, the little boy who was raped and abused, I became Little Timmy, the pre-teen who looked for sex, and found it, everywhere he turned. The very first one I did, Ryback mentioned it, it was called _Timmy Tames a Cougar_. Some woman supposedly was seducing me, but it becomes pretty obvious that Timmy wants to fuck her and is putting on an act. By the end, Timmy is very into it. No forcing there."

"It _still _wasn't your fault!" Roman reminded him. "And I'm sure not that many people watched it and if they did, they won't want to say anything. Christ, it would be admitting you watch child porn!"

"Ryback did."

"Ryback is dumber than a box of rocks," Roman said. "You were a _kid_ and you were _forced_. You'd been kidnapped. You have nothing to be ashamed of. If anyone was guilty in that, it was that woman who had sex with you and the assholes that filmed it. That's statutory rape."

"I don't know if I should stay here," Mox said, his voice lowered to just above a whisper. "If word gets out…"

"No," Roman said firmly. "You are _not_ leaving. We tried that early this summer, remember? It sucked. For us and for you. You're my brother, you're Lance and Marc's brother, and my parents are your parents. Don't even _think_ about leaving. Why should you leave?"

"What if word gets around that you and your family want to adopt a kid porn star?" Mox pointed out. "You think parents of teenagers are going to be super keen to let their kids come down and train in the same place where a sex addict lives?"

"Dude, you are _not_ a sex addict." Roman shook his head. "Exactly the opposite."

"They won't know that," Mox said. "And they won't ask. They just won't send their kids here. And that will be smart of them, because a lot of kids like me? Grow up to become the abusers. We don't all grow up despising sex like I do."

"So what?" Roman shrugged, even though the thought of someone like Mox growing up and doing to other kids what was done to him made him ill. "The teen sessions aren't necessary. We could fill up those two weeks with adults, without a problem. Dad teaches them mostly to show kids it's not as easy as they think to be a professional wrestler." Roman wanted to pound the walls of the fort with his fists, just to get rid of some of this anger that was growing inside of him. He didn't care what Mox had done in the past, he was the_ victim,_ not the guilty one. Simon and Dennis were the guilty ones and in Roman's mind, Simon had gotten off way too easily, being killed by Dennis. And, with Mox's desire to keep the child porn hidden as much as possible, Dennis might not even pay the price he should for what he'd done. Everyone seemed to be having it easy but Mox. "Please don't leave," he finally said, not knowing what else he could say. When Mox didn't respond, he continued, "At _least_ talk to Dad. You're his kid, but this camp is our livelihood, and he knows it. He'll know how to fix this, he's not going to risk you or the camp. Don't run off, Mox. Come home with me."

Roman wasn't sure if it was his talking, or if Mox just sensed that if he had to, Roman would throw him over his shoulder and carry him to the house, kicking and screaming. But Mox finally nodded. "I wasn't going to just run away anyway," he said. "I would have come back to the house to get my stuff. I just ran off because… well… Ryback opened a big can of shit in my head, and I needed to sort it out."

"That's fine," Roman said, standing up, "Just don't run off, for good, okay? And come home with me now, everyone is worried about you."

Mox stood up, but he didn't look relieved or happy, he looked like someone who was just… existing. "I didn't mean to worry people."

"That's the thing about family," Roman said, draping an arm around Mox, and then deciding that wasn't enough, and drawing his brother into a hug. "We worry about you. You can't stop it."

Mox hesitated, but then hugged his brother back fiercely. "I don't want to hurt you guys, you know? I-I love all of you, and I don't want to see you hurt because of me."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When they got back to the house, Jen threw her arms around him and then pulled back, looking at him, as if he might be as battered and bruised on the outside as he felt on the inside. Mox hugged her back, feeling slightly sheepish at how much he appreciated that hug, and that whole "mom" attitude.

To his relief, she didn't talk about it the situation, at least not in detail. She told him that Ryback had been sent back to OVW, and that everything would be fine. She said nothing about Ryback's blurting out that he had been a child porn star. She reported his leaving the camp the way a guidance counselor might inform a bullied child, that the one who had bullied them had been transferred to a new school.

He asked where Sefa was and Jen said he had business in town, but he would be back later. Then, she tried to feed him lunch, but she didn't push when he said he really wasn't hungry.

"What do I do now?" he finally said to Roman when Jen left the room.

"What do you want to do?" Roman asked. "I get it, you feel like the whole world is different, but it's not. Your part of it is just altered. When Dad gets back, you'll talk to him. In the meantime, if you want to go to your room and be alone, that's cool. Or, I think the Order, Lance and Seth are out at your favorite ring right now, practicing. You can show yourself that you really _are_ a wrestler and that the show has to go on."

"Seth," Mox said, his voice dropping. "He was there. He heard. He_ knows._" He looked at Roman, the corners of his eyes starting to fill with tears. "I like him. The three of us were tight and it's ruined."

"No, it isn't," Roman said firmly. "Yeah, I'll shoot you straight, he knows you were involved in child porn, he figured that out. But he also told me that he knows _you_, and he likes_ you_. Mox, we're the damned Citadel. We are family until the end and Seth knows it too. We're brothers."

"Really?" Mox asked, hoping he wasn't going to be too hopeful. Seth might have said that stuff to Roman, but he might have only done it because he sensed the family wouldn't be too happy if he turned against Mox. It might be a different story when they saw each other again.

"Really," Roman said, nodding. "You do what you want to do, bro, but if I were you? I'd go out there and practice with all of them. I'll join you too, because I could use some more work before Friday. The show must go on, right?"

Mox nodded. "Yeah, the show must go on."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Upon getting the message that Mox had been found, Seth had come back and reported to Jen and Sefa. They talked for a few minutes, then Sefa got a phone call and headed off to town, saying he had business to take care of. Jen had suggested he go and practice with the other kids and he'd gone out to the ring.

The kids were there all right, everyone but Roman and Mox, but they weren't practicing, they were all standing or sitting in the ring, looking worried. Even after Seth filled them in that Mox was found and Roman was going to talk to him and then bring him back home, they looked relieved, but still made no move to practice. Instead, they were talking quietly about everything and nothing and Seth would have been willing to bet, if asked later, nobody would remember one word of their discussion.

He was the first one to see Roman and Mox heading to the ring, Roman's arm draped across Mox's shoulder in a big brother fashion. Mox saw that he was looking at him and Seth found himself shouting, "There you are, you lazy slackers!"

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox would remember for the rest of his life, Seth calling across the yard to him and Roman that they were lazy slackers. And he would remember it as one of the nicest things anyone ever said to him. Because if Seth had been too sympathetic, Mox would have felt that he was secretly creeped out by Mox's past and trying to hide it. If Seth had been coolly polite, Mox would have felt that Seth was judging him and finding him guilty. But calling him and Roman lazy slackers? That told Mox that as far as Seth was concerned, nothing had changed.

_I wonder if it will be the same after I talk to Sefa?_


	16. Chapter 16

**Warning: **_Flashback in this chapter. And, even without the flashbacks, this chapter might be a little rough. _

.

**Chapter Sixteen**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When Sefa got to the sheriff's office, Aaron hustled him into a room that contained nothing but a heavy metal table and two metal chairs that had been bolted to the floor for furniture. There was a video camera in one corner of the room, a large, two way mirror, and a computer. The computer was so far away from the room's one outlet that a heavy duty, orange extension cord had been plugged into the outlet and then a power strip plugged into the extension cord. Sefa looked at the makeshift electrical stuff and said, "Isn't there something on the label that says plugging an extension cord into a power strip is illegal?"

"I'll be sure to arrest myself when this is over," Aaron said dryly. "This is normally where we question suspects. Suspects that we're pretty sure are guilty and dangerous. I had Patrick set up a computer in here, and it is _not_ connected to the internet. And, as luck would have it, the video camera mysteriously stopped working too."

Sefa's brows raised. "Aren't you being paranoid?"

"Yep," Aaron said, "But then again, I'm going to let you watch porn starring your teenage foster child. I'd rather be safe than sorry."

"Are these the jury safe copies?" When Aaron nodded, Sefa continued, "if this whole mess ended up in court, I'd get to see these, wouldn't I?"

"You would. _Or,_ you would be allowed to step outside. The judge would understand that this would be difficult if not impossible to watch. The issue is that _I _have no real reason to show these to you. If we were looking for ID I'd get stills of his face and you could identify him that way. The quality of some of these movies is remarkable, by the way. They sure as hell didn't spare any expense with video equipment." Aaron shook his head in disgust.

"So you watched them?" Sefa asked.

Aaron nodded. "FBI sent me three of them, and Patrick burned them to a DVD, so you could watch them here. I figured this was better than sending you home with them. But yeah, I watched them or at least watched a little bit of it and fast forward through a lot of it."

"Did you get the two I asked about?" When Aaron nodded, Sefa asked about the third one.

"It's a much earlier one." Aaron explained. "Look, Sefa, can we knock it off with the twenty questions? This is making me nervous enough, I really don't want to spill my guts about the inner workings of how they go about trying to find child predators. I don't know all that much, and what I do know, I'd rather not share, if it's all right with you."

"Fair enough," Sefa said, sitting down. "Uhm.. since you did watch them, what am I in for?" He knew his wording was awkward, but if he asked _all_ the things he was worried about, it would take the entire afternoon and evening.

"Heartache, murderous thoughts, and a general sense that the world is a fucked up place," Aaron said bluntly. "If you're anything like me, you'll want to go home and wrap your kids in a blanket and never let them out of the house."

Sefa nodded and sat down in front of the monitor. A pair of cheap headphones were draped over it, and he put them on. "I assume I'll need these?"

"Yeah," Aaron said. "I've heard enough, I don't want to hear it again. Even though most of it is edited, I _still_ don't want to hear it."

Sefa put on the headphones and Aaron helped him access the movies. He gave him a quick tutorial on how to operate the software needed to watch them, mostly making sure he knew where the pause and fast forward buttons were. Then, he sat down across from Sefa. He had carried a file into the room with him, and now he put it in front of him and opened it. Sefa had wondered about the file, wondered if it was related to Mox, but now he understood, it was some type of work, something to keep Aaron busy so he wouldn't have to think about what his friend was watching.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_Suzie shared the basement with Timmy for four days and they made six movies, the worst Timmy ever made. They were even worse than the ones where _he_ was being hurt, because he was the one who was doing the hurting. Maybe he had to do it, maybe it was better that it was him than it would have been to have her get gang raped by four brutal men for her first time, but it didn't change facts. He had taken someone beautiful with an innocent heart, and if he didn't completely taint her, he'd put her feet firmly on the path. Maybe they didn't make him beat her, as he had often been, but he'd tied her up and forced himself on her in the first one and by the fourth, she was skipping into his room wearing one of those fluffy little girl dresses with puffy sleeve, suggestively licking a lollipop and saying that she would much rather lick him than the candy. Her acting wasn't great, but you could tell she got it and she'd get better, which made him feel even worse. _

_They came down and took her one night too, took her upstairs and Mox found himself shivering and shaking the whole night, unable to stop imagining what was happening to her. By that point, she was at the stage where she was too broken to know what to do. Sam and his father were pleased with him. So were Suzie's "Dad" and "uncle" They credited him, at least in part, for wearing her down to the point where she might be an emotionless shell, but when she had to, she would follow orders. And they'd only had to "punish" her a couple times. Mox rarely felt lucky, but he did when they didn't make him watch her with the four men. And when she came back, she didn't say a word, just threw herself in his arms and let him hold her, so desperate for comfort that she was willing to seek it from the person who first violated her. _

_He owed her. Because it was the fear that those six movies he'd made with her, having pleased his father and Sam so much that they were probably thinking of finding more little girls to break in that made him realize that this was wrong. Even if he _had_ to do it, it was wrong and he was never going to do it again. And that's when he started feeling that he had to find a way to escape._

_He might have been a walking human bomb, but Little Suzie made him feel that being blown to bits would be a much better alternative to making those movies. All he'd have to do is make sure he wasn't around people when they pressed the magical button. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The movies were on the DVD in chronological order, so Sefa started with the first one. He wondered why Aaron had told him that they had spared no expense for the video equipment. The quality could have been worse, but it was far from the top of the line. He would realize later, that between that first movie and the last two, the quality rose significantly, letting him know that "Little Timmy" had been making enough money for those twisted sickos that they could upgrade their production equipment.

The first video started out with a close up of "Timmy's" face and Sefa knew it was Mox as a child, that this might be the first movie they made with him. He looked so young, vulnerable and frightened that Sefa wanted to leap back in time, grab him and get him to safety, then go back and kill whoever was brutalizing him first, then whoever was controlling the film equipment. The movie didn't even pretend to have a plot. It was 40 minutes of a scared little boy being brutalized by a grown man, who slapped and punched him and forced him to do what he wanted. Sefa was so grateful that the copy he was watching had the actual violation of Timmy's body blurred over, but whoever was operating the camera just loved zooming in on "Timmy's" face, which was clear as the equipment would allow. It wasn't just about a horrible, horrible rape, it was about how awesome some sick fucks thought it was to make children cry, scream, and fight, while they could laugh because no matter how much the kid fought, they were too young to do anything.

He remembered where the fast forward button was, and used it, turning 40 minutes of video into about five. He got the point, he didn't need to torture himself any further.

When he was done with the first one, he paused the screen and looked over at Aaron, who looked up from the papers he was studying, or perhaps only pretending to study, and gave him an "I told you so" look. "Should I bring a bucket in here?" he asked Sefa. "You're looking a little green around the gills."

"I'm old enough to make it to the mens room if I-" Sefa began, then stopped. "Yeah, maybe that would be for the best."

Sefa kept the video player paused while Aaron left the room and returned with a gray metal waste can, which he set down by his feet.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox suspected whatever business his dad had in town that afternoon had something to do with him and as the time passed, as dinner came and went without him returning home, Mox wondered if he had gone to visit Dennis in jail. Aaron's office only had a holding cell, and the town had no jail, so he was taken to the Madison County Jail, which was about an hour drive away.

_He's probably asking Dennis to tell him what I did. If I ever enjoyed any of the movies I made. And I_ know_ Dennis, he'll give that sly, sleazy smirk of his and tell Sefa that I enjoyed most of the movies I made. It doesn't matter that's a lie, not to Dennis. Dennis had himself convinced I loved it. _

He had managed to keep his concern away from The Order and The Citadel the rest of the afternoon, insisting they all practice as hard as they could, which everyone did, as if they were as relieved as Mox was to have something else to worry about. Mox wondered what Seth might have told them, until Seth made it a point to pull him aside and tell him that all Mustafa, May, and Raven knew, he had run away because Ryback was a jerk. Nothing, at least as far as he knew, had been said to them about the movies or anything else.

After that, Mox studied Raven closely. If someone had told them more information, Raven would be the one who would give it away. If someone had told her that he'd made teenage porn movies and enjoyed doing them, she'd probably avoid looking at him. She did neither, she treated him like she always did, taking a moment when she could whisper to him quietly that if he needed to talk, she would be happy to listen.

Everyone except Roman found an excuse to get him alone enough to offer to listen to him if he wanted to talk, even Lance. And the only reason why Roman hadn't was because he knew Mox already knew if he needed to talk to him, he would.

Mox appreciated these people, his family and friends offering to let him use them like he'd use his talk therapist, but the only person he wanted to talk to now, was Sefa. Partly because Roman said he'd have the answer, and while Mox doubted it, it would hurt to ask and partly because Mox wanted to know what he'd done all afternoon, how much about him did he find out.

_Does he still love me? Is he still _my_ dad? _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Sefa didn't make it home until he was sure everyone would be in bed. When he'd finished with the movies, he called Jen to let her know he'd be home a lot later, and not to worry about dinner, because he was going to grab something to eat with Aaron when he was off of work.

Jen was the only one besides Aaron who knew he'd gone to see the movies, so she was the only one who had any idea of the hell Sefa had gone through in watching them. _So, what hell did Mox go through to be _in _them? _

She let him know that Mox was with his friends and Roman and Lance, and that while she knew he was bothered, he was playing a good game of pretending he was all right. She told him that he'd be missing a dinner of roast turkey breast, but that it was all right, because he could have turkey sandwiches the next day for lunch.

The only question she asked him was if he was all right. And when he told her that he wasn't all right, but he was functional, she didn't push it any further. She told him she loved him and that she would see him when he got home. And for that, he was grateful.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

It was after midnight when Sefa got home. After dinner at the diner, he and Aaron had gone to the Dusty Horse and had a few beers. He wasn't drunk, they'd spaced them out enough, but it did take off a little bit of the edge he'd had since watching the films.

Jen was waiting up, which he expected her to be, but when he told her he still needed time to process and promised to come clean tomorrow, she acquiesced. When he said he needed some alone time, she went off to bed, where Sefa was pretty sure she would stare at the ceiling most of the night, he was pretty sure he had the same fate in store for him.

He was surprised, but grateful that Mox wasn't out running ropes when he'd pulled in the driveway. He wanted to talk to Mox, but not tonight. It was all too fresh to talk to him tonight.

He stayed at the kitchen table for about fifteen minutes after Jen went to bed, just in case someone in the house decided to come to the kitchen. Then he rose to his feet, knowing he should really try to get some sleep.

He left the kitchen, heading to his office. He had a bottle of whiskey in the lower desk drawer, a gift from one of his former students. Sefa didn't drink much, running SPWA was a more than full time job, and not easy to do when hung over. But for tonight he figured he'd take a shot, in hopes sleep would come easier.

He automatically hit the light switch when he walked into the room and almost yelped when he saw that he wasn't alone.

Mox looked up from the chair he was sitting at and stared. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy. "Did you go to the prison?" he asked.

Sefa's brows furrowed, then he shook his head. "Why would I do that?"

"To talk to Dennis. To ask him about what I'd done, the movies… how I felt about doing them."

Sefa shook his head. "I wouldn't expect Dennis to give me an honest answer if I asked him for the color of the shirt I'm wearing." When he heard the sigh of relief from Mox, he realized what he _had_ done wasn't going to make Mox happy either. So, he walked over to his desk and sat down behind it. "But, I have to shoot you straight, Mox. I asked Aaron for some help and he got me some of those movies you made." He winced, seeing Mox gasp, looking as if he'd been punched in the gut.

"_Why?"_ Mox asked, looking hurt.

"Because I had to see," Sefa explained. "Ryback made a lot of accusations about your attitude in those movies and I wanted to see. Because I _have_ to know what you, what this family might be up against."

Mox's hand went to his shoulder and he started tapping on his collar bone, a habit that told everyone who really knew him, that he was upset. He let silence stretch out as he lowered his head and drew in a deep breath as if to steady himself. When he looked up at Sefa, his eyes were wet, but no tears fell. "And what do you think?" he asked.

Sefa drew in his own deep breath, letting it out in a sigh. "Mox, I have to know, did you _rape _that little girl?"

Sefa hoped, almost prayed that Mox would shake his head immediately, and tell him what was going on. But Mox hesitated before he spoke. "That would depend on how you define rape, sir."

"Don't be a wise ass." Sefa snapped, wincing at Mox calling him "sir" instead of Dad. "You know what I mean."

"I'm not sure if I do." Mox's voice was low and trembling. "I'll tell you what happened, but I need to ask you a question first. And please be honest."

"Fine," Sefa said, nodding.

"Are you still my Dad?"

Sefa's brows furrowed in surprise that Mox would even ask, then he remembered, this was Mox and as much as they tried to show him, unconditional love wasn't something he completely understood. "Mox, you're my son. I've told you that. You are my son, and I will _always_ love you. I might not approve of things you've done or will do in the future. You might even have done or will do things I hate. But I will _never_ stop loving you. I can hate something you've done and still love _you." _

Now the tears spilled down Mox's cheeks and he nodded. Sefa longed to run over and wrap his arms around Mox, assure him of that unconditional love, but he also knew Mox wasn't ready for that. So, he waited for him to speak. "I had a choice," Mox finally said. "I could do what I did, or four adult men, all who didn't believe in being nice, would have done it to her instead and that would have been her first time. I would have been punished, likely in a similar way, and then _still_ forced to make that fucking movie. So, is that rape, Dad? She didn't want it, neither did I, but I explained to her that better me than them. While she never consented, she agreed to let it be me, rather than them. So, am I still guilty of rape?"

_Good question,_ Sefa thought.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Neither Mox or Sefa got any sleep that night. Instead, Mox spilled his heart out, telling his dad everything his dad wanted him to know, and everything Mox wanted someone to know about his life before. Mox always thought he never wanted anyone to know, and he'd avoided telling, making _not_ talking about his past an art form with his therapist. But be was amazed at how good it was to tell Sefa his past and know he still loved him.

"I _know_ I did bad things," Mox said. "I know more now than I knew growing up. I know Suzie was too young to give me consent, even if she agreed."

"Statutory rape," Sefa said. "You're absolutely right. But, in this case, it's different. You did it to save her a worse fate, and because you were in fear for your own life and hers. I have no clue what the law would say about such a thing, I don't even know if you'd be arrested. Do you have any idea what happened to that little girl?"

Mox didn't want to say, but he'd promised himself total honesty with Sefa. "I don't know for sure, but she's probably... gone." He looked away from Sefa. "That's why I did those later films. Because I knew I was at the end of my usefulness to them. I mean, I lasted longer than I should have. Sam, I mean Simon was making noises like I was nearing my expiration date when I was eleven. By the time I was thirteen, he was really persistent. I-I'm pretty sure the only reason I wasn't killed because my fa- I mean, Dennis, had some weird obsession with me. I suggested, uh, those later movies to save my life. I had no idea about Suzie until they brought her downstairs and told me I was going to make movies with her."

Sefa nodded, not giving approval, Mox knew that, he was just letting him know he was listening, that he got what Mox was saying. "I'm assuming Suzie wasn't her real name, would you know what it was?"

Mox shook his head. "She wanted to tell me, but I wouldn't let her." He could remember slapping his hand over her mouth. How startled she'd been.

"Why not?"

"Because they _beat_ my name out of me," Mox said. "And I knew they would do the same thing to her if she didn't get with the program, quick. I-I didn't want her to lose her name. I wanted her to remember it, no matter what. Because once you lose your name, you start becoming what they want you to be. I… wanted her to have a part of herself that wasn't Suzie."

Sefa nodded, but didn't say it was too bad he didn't get her name so they could alert authorities, for which Mox was grateful. He already felt like he had enough of Suzie's blood staining his soul, he didn't need more.

They could hear Jen moving around the kitchen, making coffee and starting breakfast. "We're going to have to wrap this up soon," Sefa commented.

"Dad," Mox's voice was horse from all the talking he'd done. "What happens now?"

"We go on," Sefa said. "We live our lives."

"But, I don't want to hurt the family, or the camp," Mox said. "If Ryback knew about me, who else will? And if it becomes public knowledge, it will hurt your reputation."

Sefa looked at him, eyes narrowing slightly. "Mox, do you really believe you're my son? Or do you still believe we'll abandon you?"

Mox leaned back in the chair. "I-I guess after earlier this summer, when I was in Ohio and now this, that you're not going to abandon me."

"So, I am your father, right? And Jen is your mother, right?"

Mox nodded.

"Then you let us worry about this. We're the parents. Our job is to be there for you. To stand by you no matter what."

Mox wiped his eyes. He wasn't really crying, anymore, but occasionally, he found his eyes to be wet and he knew he still had tears to spend. "But, I don't want to hurt you, the family, the camp. If I'd known that this would all come out like this? I never would have let Roman pull me out of that ditch, I never would have come here."

"Well then," Sefa said. "I'm really glad you didn't know."


	17. Chapter 17

**Did You Know:** _On this day in 1632 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, a Dutch microscopist who was the first to observe bacteria and protozoa was born. No, this has absolutely nothing to do with the story, I just thought it was interesting._

* * *

.

**Chapter Seventeen**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to SPWA!"

Noella's familiar voice carried over the loudspeakers as Seth laced up the "Military" boot that were part of his costume, boots that looked serious, but were actually a lot like lightweight sneakers.

"Hurry," Mox insisted. "Dad will be calling us out soon." Mox had been ready at least three minutes ago and was fidgeting and urging everyone else to finish up.

Seth looked around the locker room and realized Roman was all set too. Mustafa was in there, and even he had finished changing, even though he wouldn't be needed until later. Embarrassed to be the "last one is a rotten egg" he quickly tied a double bow and stood up. "Calm down, Mox, I'm ready."

In truth, he was glad Mox was being, well, _Mox._ Impatient, and back to thinking that wrestling wasn't just the _best_ thing in life, it was the _only_ thing in life. Seth didn't know what had gone down between Mox and Sefa, what he did know was that Mox was back to being himself, and he realized that meant more to him than the wrestling did.

"C'mon, let's get to Gorilla," Roman said, smiling warmly at Mox, who was almost dancing in eagerness.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Sefa/Nathan almost charged into the ring with Marc and looking furious as Marc scrambled over to the side closest the announcers and motioned for a microphone. When Marc walked over with the mic, Nathan snatched it out of his hands.

The audience was cheerfully booing him, and Nathan glared at them. "I know most of you were here last week. I see your faces, I know that most of you come here week after week. Yeah, some of you are coming here just because it's free and you're cheap, but most of you actually _care_. Not for me though. Not for _my_ boys, who have dedicated their lives to this business. Who have built this business into the empire it's become! No, you don't cheer _them_. You cheer for a bunch of-" He paused, and began pacing around the ring, as if he was so angry that he had to keep moving, or he might suddenly succumb to a case of spontaneous combustion,"-_losers, _who aren't worth the time of day!"

He paused from pacing to focus his attention on increasing the intention of his glare at the audience. "And last week you cheered those losers on to victory. You're _disgusting!"_ Again he paused, but this time it was to let the audience boo and scream for a bit, because they were making enough noise that they were starting to drown out his words.

When the audience simmered down a bit, he continued. "I am half tempted to close this place down, end the shows, end everything. Why should _I_ offer free admission to these shows when me and my family get absolutely nothing from you! In fact, I should close the show down tonight before it begins and send all of you home. It's not like you can ask for a _refund, _you cheap losers!" Another pause to let the audience scream their disapproval without drowning him out, before he continued, "But lucky for you, the SPWA is a family business and family is everything. Thus, I'm not going to close this place out without giving my boys a chance to redeem themselves and restore our family honor." He turned and looked at the ramp, "Get your asses down here, now!"

Barely was the word "now" out of his mouth when _Mob Rules_ began to play and the Citadel came out, and while they didn't run to the ring, all three of them walked at a brisk pace and climbed into the ring.

As Marc went to the ropes to get a microphone for the Citadel, Nathan verbally tore a strip from "his boys," Telling them they had dishonored the family and he wasn't going to take it. Roman and Seth looked down at their feet, too ashamed to look Nathan in the eyes. Mox did not follow suit, instead he took the microphone from Marc.

"I get it, we suck," Mox said, as the audience booed him. "We had a bad night and we screwed up. We let the trash take over."

"Damned right you did," Nathan said. He started to go into another rant, but Mox interrupted him.

"We can't change the past, but we can fix the future," he said. "You said we'd have a chance to restore the family honor. Give us that chance and we won't disappoint."

Before Nathan could answer,_ We're Not Gonna Take It_ began to play over the speaker system. Both folks in the ring and the audience looked to the top of the ramp, as The Order of the Phoenix walked out, May first, holding up her championship belt for the audience to see before she slung it over her shoulder. Mustafa and Raven stood on either side of her, wearing their tag team belts around their waists. Mustafa was holding a microphone, which he handed to May once she had a free hand.

"I didn't call for the three stooges," Nathan snapped. "Get backstage with the rest of the losers."

The Order started chuckling, and May shook her head, patting her belt. "Maybe you forgot, but we're the _winners._ Your precious Citadel was put asunder, and we, as the Mighty Phoenix, have risen from the ashes to be the true champions of _SPWA!" _

The audience cheered her words, all the folks in the ring frowned and stared daggers at her. Mustafa and Raven nodded to each other, brows raised and clapped. Mustafa mouthed to Raven, "Impressive!"

Raven mouthed back, "She's got a way with words."

When the cheering died down, the Order came down to the ring and climbed in. Raven took the microphone from May. "We're the champions, which means this is _our_ ring now!"

Raven handed the mic to Mustafa, who said, "And, if you want us to fight the Citadel yet _again _to prove it? We're more than ready to put it all on the line." On that note, he dropped the microphone. Mox had put his mic down earlier, and two groups lined up, facing each other, glaring, looking ready to start fighting right that second. The crowd cheered, waiting for the brawl they wanted to see.

"Hold on!" Nathan said, moving over and getting between Mox and Raven, to keep them from attacking. "You'll get your chance to fight them again," he said to Raven, then turned his head to Mox, "And you'll get the chance to earn your honor back."

"How about right now?" Roman suggested through gritted teeth as he stared at May, who glared back at him. "I don't feel right without gold around my waist."

"Get used to it," May snapped, and the audience barely noticed that the sound folks had turned up Sefa/Nathan's mic so it would pick up their voices The rest of the group was staying quiet. "Because it'll be a cold day in hell before you wear this again, Roman." She tossed her hair to the side and raised the shoulder where the belt rested.

"Knock it off, both of you." Nathan ordered. "I didn't say you'd get your chance_ tonight." _

All members of the Order and the Citadel looked at Nathan. "Why not?" Mox asked. "They're willing and I miss _my_ belt."

"Tough," Nathan said. "You'll have the championship matches, tomorrow night."

"Why?" May asked.

Nathan looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Because, you may think you run this place, but you forget, I'm the _owner._ And I say your title defense will be _tomorrow night._ But, since you're all so eager to fight? You can have a triple threat match."

Raven scowled. "Why?"

Nathan's eyes never altered from the steely slits. "Because again, I'm the _owner _of this place, and I can do whatever_ I_ want."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Since the teen session of SPWA had started , Mox spent performance nights sitting with "his friends," when not needed on stage. They would talk about their upcoming matches and go over last minute details.

He was always aware that there were other campers there, but he never made it a point to study them. But tonight, he did. He did see several of them looking in their direction a lot, although it was hard to say if they were looking at him, or the whole group.

"Roman," he asked, when the two of them went to get some water for the others, "have you ever noticed that the other students watch us a lot when we're backstage at the table talking?"

Roman thought for a moment, then nodded. "Now that you mention it, I think they might look at us more than they look at other folks. But, it's not surprising, we're the stars of the show, and we're pretty rowdy about it. We draw attention."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Mox said. But he wondered to himself if it had been that way the whole time. Because he wasn't sure if it was his imagination or not, that he felt people were going out of their way to stare at him and if they were, was it because he was a good wrestler or a kid porn star? Had Ryback told folks what he knew as he was packing to leave? Or had these people seen the evidence for themselves?

_How popular were those things? _he worried as he and Roman headed back to the table with bottles of water for everyone. _ How easy is it for people to find them on the internet? How many of these students have seen me- _He shut that last thought down quick, afraid if he gave it much thought, he'd never get through tonight.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The promo opened with Nathan in the hall, his arm around a young man in a referee suit. "Looking good," he commented. "Did you get those new contacts?"

The young man nodded. "Yep, I got 20/20 now!"

Nathan nodded as well, as he took his arm off the referee's shoulder and moved so he was able to look at him. "Glad to hear it. You'll be the referee in the title matches tomorrow."

"Really? Thanks, I'll do my very best to make you proud."

"I'm sure you will," Nathan said. "And if you could do me a little favor? Leave those contacts at home tomorrow."

"But I'm almost blind without them!" the referee said, looking shocked.

"I know," Nathan said, "That's the whole point." Before the referee could reply, he strode down the hall. The camera stayed on the confused referee's face.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Roman was heading to the locker room to get read for his match when one of the other students stopped him with a friendly enough, greeting. "Hey Roman, can I ask you something?"

Roman paused, thinking this would be one of the typical questions other students often asked him, such as, "Has your father ever mentioned me and said anything about my skills?" or, to ask for directions to someplace within the arena. "Yeah?" Roman made it a point to remember as many names of students as he could, but some folks were easier to remember than others. "Damian, isn't it?"

The man nodded, "Some of the people around here are talking. Before Ryback left, he told some of the group that your brother Mox is a porn star. Is that true?"

Roman was not the type of guy who lost control easily, and even he was surprised at the white hot anger that came out of nowhere, like stomping on an inner gas pedal, which took him from calm to furious in less than a second. He grabbed Damian by his T-shirt and even though the guy was three inches or so, taller than him, twisted him around and slammed him into the wall. _What the heck are you doing?_ the rational part of his mind yelled at him, but the irrational part wasn't listening. "Ryback is a fucking idiot," he said, his voice hot, "and if you believe him, then you're one too."

"Whoa!" Damian held up his hands, one on either side of Roman's fists clutching the front of his t-shirt, looking startled, but not particularly worried about any threat Roman might pose to him. "Calm down, I was just asking, because there are a few guys who've been talking about it, and I wanted to see if it was true or not."

"Oh?" Roman's rational mind continued to suggest he cut this behavior out right this second, and his irrational, angry mind continue to ignore it. "Take those guys a message; tell them if I hear them talking shit about my brother, I will _kill_ them." He knew it was a wild threat. But he didn't know what he _could_ say that would show Damian how completely pissed off he was.

"Yeah, I'll do that," Damian said, hands still up, but the expression on his face showing that while he knew Roman was upset and being irrational, he had no fear for his personal safety. Roman was well built, but so was Damian. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers."

Finally, Roman's rational mind got word to the irrational mind, and he let go of Damian's t-shirt and stepped back. "Sorry," he mumbled, a half-assed apology if there ever was one. "I just get sick and tired of stupid rumors going around this camp," he lied, as if this was a major problem and the only reason why he flipped, not that the rumor could possibly be true.

Damian thought, frowned for a moment, then shrugged, his face taking on a careful, but not unfriendly look. "It's cool, I really thought it was bullshit, Mox is a kid, you know? But some of the guys are insisting that Ryback was positive it was him. I'll tell them to mind their own business, okay?"

Roman nodded. He hadn't outright lied and if his actions caused Damian to try to stop the talk about Mox, so much the better. "Yeah, sorry," he repeated. "I've been getting up early for football practice, then coming home and practicing for the show all afternoon. I'm getting frayed."

"Don't worry, it's all right," Damian said as he turned to go back to whatever it was he was doing before he'd stopped Roman.

Roman watched him walk away, then drew in a sigh of relief. _Thank god it stays here, _he thought, imagining what might have happened if Mox had witnessed this interaction. Taking a deep breath, he continued to head towards the locker room.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Around the corner, Mox drew in several deep breaths and leaned against the wall, trying to keep himself together. _Fuck, everyone knows! _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"One," the referee shouted as May hovered over Mox for the pin. "Two…"

From backstage, Sefa watched, noticing Mox was staying still. "Do _not_ let him swallow that pin!" _What the fuck is wrong with that boy? _

Uncertain, since he was a green student, not a trained referee, the man pretended to be distracted by Raven and Mustafa, who were both shouting encouragement to Raven. While the audience couldn't hear him, those who were decent lip readers could see he was telling them to shut up. Since it was the job of wrestlers to cheer on their teammates, it was awkward and strange and even the audience knew this was not supposed to be part of the show.

Raven, for her part, started giving the referee the finger with both hands, waving them frantically and screaming that the referee was an idiot. The one fingered salute was not supposed to be used in the shows, but Sefa appreciated her quick thinking for this one. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than her and Mustafa looking shocked and it sure gave the referee a reason to be pissed off at them.

Roman, knowing this was wrong, jumped into the ring and as the referee restarted the three count, he pushed May off of Mox, an action that snapped Mox out of the daze he was in and he got to his feet.

_That's right, _Sefa though, _ get your head back in the game. _Always alert when he was giving cues backstage, Sefa ramped up his focus in order to try to stop any other problems before they happened.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"What happened?" Seth asked, as Mox climbed back into the ring after tagging Roman in. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Mox said, turning so he could watch the action in the ring. "I don't know what happened back there, I just had a massive brain fart or something." He felt Seth's staring at him, and knew his friend was studying him, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth, so Mox started cheering Roman on, eagerly making gestures, and doing his best to show Seth that he was doing just fine. When Seth stopped staring and went back to watching Roman, Mox knew he was okay, and gave a mental sigh of relief.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

By the time the match ended, with Mustafa getting the pin on Roman, Sefa was almost convinced Mox just had a slip up out there, because the rest of his performance was perfect Mox.

That didn't stop him from taking Mox aside when he was backstage and asking him what the hell went wrong earlier. "You almost ended up having to eat a pin you weren't supposed to, and everyone else had to save your ass. What happened?"

Mox shrugged. "I don't know. Seth yelled at me about it too, and I couldn't give him a good answer either. I spaced for a moment."

Sefa scowled. "Did you think you were supposed to be pinned? Or did you just blank out while you were on the mat?"

Mox looked worried for a moment, then his brow smoothed and he shrugged. "I just blanked out for a moment. May had knocked the wind out of me with that kick she did to my chest, and I was focusing more on breathing."

"Are you saying, May _botched?"_ Sefa growled.

"No," Mox shook his head. "It was _my_ botch, I walked into it. It was an accident. May is really careful when she wrestles, you know that."

"Sounds to me like your brain was already somewhere other than the match before you almost blew the pin." Sefa knew he sounded angry, so he drew in a deep breath and made his voice calmer. "Does this have anything to do with the situation?" He didn't have to explain, Mox knew what he meant.

"No," Mox shook his head again. "Nothing to do with that. Walking into the kick was an honest mistake."

Sefa looked at his son, trying to see if he was really telling the truth. Mox looked back at him, unflinching. Finally, he nodded. "Hit the showers then."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Tucking his laptop under his arm, Mox crept out of his bedroom. As he shut the door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief, almost certain Lance or Roman hadn't woken up. Nobody would have questioned that he'd sneaked out, he often did that to go run the ropes if he couldn't sleep. It was the laptop they would question.

He headed to the arena, where he knew he'd be alone. _I know Ryback started the rumor around here, but I have to know, How easy would it be for someone to find out my past? _He'd been having this thought on and off all night, and trying to figure out who to ask. His computer skills weren't great, he only used computers for his lessons and to check out the SPWA and other wrestling sites, but he knew, if you wanted to find porn, that was where you went, the internet.

He thought about asking Lance, the computer expert, if he could give him some ideas, but quickly dismissed it as the worst idea ever. He thought about Seth, who might not be as computer savvy as Lance, but had talked about computers as if he was familiar with them. Seth was dismissed too, because the last thing Mox wanted was for him to tell someone Mox was looking for porn. He didn't think Seth would be dumb enough to tell his folks, but he might tell Roman, maybe even joke with him about it.

_Do guys joke about helping their friends find porn? _he wondered. His life was so porn free now, that he wasn't sure. He might not have even known the internet was a world of porn if he hadn't heard so many jokes about it from Roman's friends. _Okay, so guys do joke with each other about porn, but I can't risk going to Seth. _He thought there might be nobody he could ask, and was prepared to try to find out himself, then he remembered he did know someone who might be able to help. As he was lying in bed, waiting for Roman and Lance to go to sleep, he started texting on his phone:

_**Are you awake?**_

He had to wait awhile, and he worried this might be a dead end. As he was about to give up and try to figure it out for himself, he heard the ding.

**Hey, it's been awhile. I'm awake, I'm just looking over my textbooks for next semester. **

Mox wanted to sigh in relief, but if Roman or Lance were awake, they might ask what was going on, so he settled for that inward sigh. _Thank god you're up, Faulk, you just saved me a boatload of trouble. _

_**Can I ask you a really big favor? **_

**You can ask.**

Mox smiled. Things might have ended badly with Faulk, now that Mox was away from the situation and had some time to reflect, he didn't hate him. He thought the guy had a bad sense of timing and hadn't understood Mox as well as he thought he did, but he had been a good friend while Mox was out there. He stared at the screen, wondering how to put his request, wrote it out a million times and erased it.

**Did I say the wrong thing?**

_Just ask him, Mox. Stop hesitating. _

_**How do I find porn on the internet?**_

It was Faulk's turn to go quiet, and Mox was worried he might have offended him. He debated if he should text him and tell him to forget about it, but then his phone dinged to tell him he had a message.

**Turn on your computer. **

_**I can't right now, I'm not near enough to my laptop.**_

**No, I meant turn on your computer, porn is everywhere. I don't even try to find porn, but it manages to find me. **

_**I use my computer for homeschooling and to check out the SPWA site when Lance posts pics and vids. I have never had it try to show me porn. **__Good thing too, _Mox thought as he hit send. _If it had, I might have punched the computer. _

**You're under age, I feel I should tell you not to go looking for porn, but I know it's useless. And I'm sure not asking you why you want to find porn. **

_**Thank you. **__ Oh, I'll bet what you're thinking and I'm thinking are completely different, _Mox thought.

**How about I email you some links? **

_**That works, thank you, Faulk. I know this is awkward. **_

**It's okay. While this isn't what I was hoping for, it's still nice to see I can help you get your rocks off. **

_Dude, no, _Mox thought as he typed. _**I don't think I'm gay. **_He looked at the words, waiting for him to just hit send. It looked stark and unforgiving. _I need to lay it all out for him._ As he started to type, a message from Faulk rolled up the screen.

**Sorry if that was crude, I meant it to be funny. I'm an idiot sometimes. **

Mox erased the "I don't think I'm gay" comment. _**Sometimes? **_

**Oh, and a hale and hearty FU to you too, Moxy! **

Mox smiled. This was the Faulk he knew from before that last, horrible day in Ohio. The Faulk that took him under his wing and befriended him when he was far away from his brothers and the camp and his family. _**Face it, you sent out an invitation for that, and I would be rude not to accept. **_

**FU again, Mox. On a serious note though, I am so sorry how things turned out. I totally misread things, and later, when I thought about it, I realized I was so wrong. You were upset and I was trying to kiss you. **

_**It's okay**_ Mox realized it really _was_ okay. He had forgiven Faulk and in his own way, could see why Faulk might have thought Mox was gay.

He heard Roman give a soft snort, a sign he was asleep, which reminded him of everything that was happening. _You aren't supposed to be fucking around here, _he told himself. He had too much going on. _**Did you send those links yet? I really should get going. **_

**Impatient, aren't you? Yes, I sent them. **

They exchanged a little more small talk, then Mox said he really had to get going, and Faulk said that was fine, because he was still hoping to look over his textbooks.

.

Now Mox was in the arena, sitting in one of the locker rooms with his laptop. Once it booted up the first thing he did was check his email. While none of the email he had in his inbox came from Faulk's usual email address, there was a hotmail email from a name Mox didn't know, but the subject line was _Some Useful Links. _

He opened up the email and sure enough, there were several links. Mox felt his mouth go dry and he was trembling. _I don't want to do this,_ he thought, and right after, _ But I have to. _

He swallowed to get his mouth to start producing saliva. Taking a deep breath, he hit the first link.


	18. Chapter 18

**Author's Notes: **Sorry I'm updating on Friday instead of Thursday. Blame the cold from Hell that's clinging to me like a bad habit.

* * *

.

**Chapter Eighteen**

**.**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"C'mon!" Mox screamed, almost pulling the tag rope off the corner, as he waved his hand, showing Seth he was ready for a tag in. Seth lay on his stomach in the ring, legs splayed behind him as if they had been so damaged he couldn't move them. He reached towards Mox, trying to make some type of contact, even a brush of fingertips.

Raven had other plans, and just as it looked like Seth might be able to drag his battered body close enough to tag Mox, she rushed over and dragged him to the middle of the floor. She had been tagged in seconds ago and she ran to the corner, and crouched, ready to charge.

Seth staggered to his feet, his legs miraculously working again. He started to turn to head to Mox, but was thwarted by Raven running across the ring, hitting him with a spear. Seth fell on his back and she rushed to pin him.

The fight had gone on for twenty minutes, and the audience, thinking it was winding down, started to count along with the referee. "One! Two!"

Before the three count, Mox spit out a wad of gum he'd had in his mouth since the match began. It bounced off the referee's head, causing him to stop counting. He pulled the gum out of his hair, stood up, so he was facing Mox and began screaming at him, and Mox screamed right back.

The referee distracted; Roman motioned to Lance in the timekeeper's booth. Lance ran over and handed him a chair. In normal circumstances, Sefa forbid the use of any outside objects with teens, but Gimpy, made this chair out of balsa wood, and close up, it barely resembled a chair, but that was fine. As far as the audience could see, as quickly as they would see it, it was a folding chair.

Roman took the chair from Lance, slid into the ring and crept behind Raven, who was also yelling at the referee. He swung the chair, hitting Raven square in the back.

The chair exploded on impact, bits of balsa wood flying everywhere. Some of the chair didn't splinter, instead it broke into such small bits that instead of flying everywhere, they floated to the ground like dandelion fluff. It gave the entire action a slow motion feeling.

Raven played her part perfectly. The audience saw her eyes go wide, as she fell to the mat, bouncing once, then hitting the floor again, looking as if she sustained horrible injuries.

The audience booed out its displeasure, as the commentary folks made remarks, Mox continued to yell at the referee, who yelled back, forgetting there was a wrestling match taking place behind him.

While Mox and the referee argued, Roman dragged Raven to the center of the ring and flipped her onto her back. He walked over to Seth, who was still not moving, looking half dead, and dragged him over. He draped Seth's body, putting his belly, on top of Raven's.

As the audience screamed, Mox argued with the referee, and Roman took his time leaving the ring and returning to the barricade. When he assumed this military stance, hands behind him, Mox pointed to Raven and Seth jumping up and down.

The referee turned, his eyes widening and he ran over, sliding on the mat. "One!"

The audience joined in. "Two!"

The referee kept his hand in the air for just a moment longer than necessary, then slammed it into the mat. "_Three!" _

The three count still echoed through the arena, as Noella shouted out, "Your winners, and the new SPWA tag team champions, _Seth Rollins _and _Jon Moxley!" _

Instantly recovered, Seth leaped to his feet as Roman and Mox came in, standing on either side of him. The referee came over with the belts, which both wrestlers snatched out of his hands and held them up, proudly. Roman stood in the middle of them, raising their arms in the air, looking proud.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Thanks for letting me have the pin," Seth said to Mox as they rushed to change shirts before Roman's match. To buy them the time, a promo of Roman congratulating Seth and Mox backstage was shown. Sefa joined the group at the end of it to remind Roman that the battle wasn't over and he'd better get the Championship belt from May or he would be excommunicated from the family.

"You don't have to keep thanking me," Mox said, "The first fifty times were enough." Seth had been finding every reason to thank him since Mox had suggested Seth be the one to get the pin.

"Yeah," Seth pulled his shirt over his head. "I know it's no big deal to you, but this is the closest I'm going to get to _real_ professional wrestling until I'm back next year so it's nice to end on a high note." He took a clean shirt out of his locker and put it on. "You'll probably have another pin next week."

_Really? _Mox thought, refusing to look in Seth's direction, giving a slight nod as if agreeing. _I wonder how you'd feel if I told you that might have been the last match I'm ever in?_

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Nobody in the audience was surprised when Roman won the belt from May, but they acted properly indignant over it and spent several minutes booing as Seth and Mox came into the ring to congratulate him.

When the booing died down, Roman went to the edge of the ring, where Lance handed him three microphones. He gave Mox and Seth one, and brought his own up to his mouth. Before he could speak, the crowd began booing again.

Roman waited, looking from Mox to Seth and back to the audience, an amused smirk on his face. When the audience quieted down, he spoke. "Y'all really can't stand me, can you?" The audience booed again, in agreement, but Roman spoke over them, "It's okay, you're supposed to hate me. It just shows I'm doing my job. But, this is a very special night, so I'm breaking the fourth wall."

The audience fell silent to listen. "We've had some special guests here the last few weeks, students who came for the teen sessions of the camp," Roman said, "they were so good, we asked them to stay for another two weeks so they could keep entertaining you. One of them is here now," He motioned to Seth, who grinned and nodded. "Seth Rollins, everyone."

The same audience that booed for him earlier, cheered for him now and Seth grinned.

"And the other three, are The Order of the Phoenix," Roman continued.

Mox interrupted, "which you'd all _know_, if you weren't so _cheap_ and bought the full color programs, on sale at the concession stand!"

"For a mere _fifteen ninety-nine!"_ Seth added.

Roman smiled, shaking his head at the both of them, as the audience laughed. "C'mon guys, now is not the time to push the program guide agenda." The audience refusing to buy the programs was a running joke, the truth being the audience snapped them up, then tried to get as many of the wrestlers to sign them. _And someday, when these wrestlers are famous, they'll sell them on eBay,_ Roman thought. He looked back at the audience. "Unfortunately all good things come to an end, and tomorrow, Seth and these other folks are returning home. I know you're all going to miss them, so I'd like to bring them out now, so we can give them a proper, SPWA farewell."

_We're Not Gonna Take It _began to play and Roman raised his voice to be heard above the music. "I know these folks as May and Raven Devany, and Mustafa Ali, you folks know them as _The Order of the Phoenix!" _

May, Mustafa, and Raven came from backstage and the crowd's cheers were almost deafening. They stood at the end of the ramp, looking out over the audience for a moment, before they came down the ramp and entered the ring.

The audience cheered as both the Citadel and the Order hugged each other. The Order and Seth took turns thanking the audience, and assuring them this wasn't good bye, it was so long for now, because they all were coming back next summer. May and Raven weren't quite sure if they could, but they had promised earlier to the Citadel that they would really try.

Roman expected Mox to remind the audience that he would continue to be here, but he stayed silent. He looked over at him, Mox's eyes were too bright, as if tears would spill out any moment. _This is really hard on him, _Roman thought, _I'm not surprised, though. This is the group of friends Mox always wanted, and they're scattered around the country. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Both the Citadel and the Order agreed they would not go to the midnight breakfast, opting instead to have breakfast together with the Reigns on Sunday morning. The official reason was that the Devany sister's flight left early in the morning, but Mox suspected the unofficial and just as important reason was Jen's cinnamon rolls. He was grateful for this group decision now, but not for the promise of cinnamon rolls, or early morning flights, but because it meant everyone would go to sleep early.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

_"Your winner, and new Undisputed Champion, Seth Rollins!"_

_As they handed him the belt, Seth was in shock realizing at barely sixteen, he was the youngest champion the WWE ever had and on top of that, he had no idea who he'd beaten to get such an honor, but it didn't matter, what mattered was he was champion and the crowd was going crazy, chants of "this is awesome!" and "you deserve it!" echoed through the arena. Seth was in his glory, his lifelong dream coming true. _This will be the defining moment of my life! _he thought. _Everything that _has_ happened to me will be before I won the WWE Championship for the first time. Everything that _will_ happen to me will be after I won.

_If the approval of the crowd wasn't enough, Rob Van Dam, one of his all time favorite wrestlers had entered the ring! Seth smiled, wondering what he would say to him. Would he tell Seth how great he was? Congratulate him on being the youngest champion ever? Maybe even start a feud with him, and wouldn't that be awesome, to be in a feud with someone as great as Rob!_

_To his surprise, Rob poked him in the armpit, causing him to drop the belt, and whispered in his ear, "Seth, wake up!" _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth woke up and sat up at the same time, almost scraping his head on the ceiling of the cabin. _I keep forgetting I'm in the top bunk! _Confused, he looked at Rob, wondering why Rob had followed him out of his dreams and why had he poked him in the armpit?

It wasn't Rob, of course, it was Mox. "You're awake," he whispered.

"Dude," Seth said, loudly, forgetting for a moment that everyone else in the cabin was asleep. When Mustafa, sleeping in the bunk under him, muttered for Seth to shut up, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Why did you poke me in the _armpit?"_

"Because you were sleeping with your arm over your head," Mox said, "I thought poking you in the armpit would make you wake up fast, so we wouldn't wake people up."

"Yeah? That almost failed," Seth said, trying to keep from sounding sour. "What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you," Mox said. "It's important, can we go outside where we won't wake anyone up?"

"Sure," Seth said, wondering what would be so important that it couldn't wait until morning. He hopped off his bed, and threw on a pair of denim shorts over his boxers. Mox was looking impatient, so he grabbed his sneakers by the laces and carried them outside.

Mox didn't speak until Seth had his sneakers on, and the two of them walked over to one of the outdoor rings. Not Mox's favorite ring, the one closest to the house, this was the one that was furthest from the house.

On the floor, near the corner of the ring was a duffle bag, and the sight of it made Seth nervous. _What is going on here? _

They climbed into the ring, and Mox went over the duffle bag. He opened it up and extracted an envelope. "Seth, I need you to do me a favor. I need you to give this to my dad or mom tomorrow. Preferably my dad, but if he's not around, you can give it to my mom."

He held out the envelope and Seth took it as if it might be a snake instead of paper. "Okay, Mox, what is the deal?" he asked.

"I'm leaving," Mox said. "For the good of the Reigns and the SPWA I have to get out of here."


	19. Chapter 19

**Today **is probably one of those perfect of Fall days. It's about 50f. outside, so wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt is fine. A jacket is optional. I hope everyone reading this is having good weather, too.

* * *

.

**Chapter **

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"What the _fuck?" _

Mox expected Seth wouldn't like the idea that Mox was leaving the Reigns, and he'd counted on confusion, but it wasn't just confusion, Seth was angry too. "Look, it's complicated," Mox said, "And I don't_ want_ to leave, but I have to."

"No," Seth disagreed. "You don't _have _to leave. The Reigns love you and if you run off, they're going to be pissed off. No, more than that, they're probably going to wonder what _they_ did wrong."

"I know," Mox said, wishing he didn't have to explain this to Seth, but knowing if he wanted Seth to do what he asked, he would have to. "I've thought about this carefully, I've been thinking about it since really early this morning."

"Why are you leaving?" Seth asked, cutting right to the heart of the matter. "Does it have anything to do with Skipback being an asshole?"

"Kind of," Mox admitted.

"He's a_ jerk!"_ Seth exploded. "He isn't worth another thought."

"Well, yeah," Mox shrugged. "But-" he hesitated, not wanting to go on, but knowing he had to. He drew a deep breath.

"But _what?" _ Seth asked before he could continue.

"Well, he's a jerk, but he's also right." Mox ran his fingers through his hair, wishing he could open up Seth's head and pour information into it so he wouldn't have to explain, Seth would just know everything. "Shit, I think you caught on by now, I was kidnapped as a kid, By two guys who, uh, sexually abused me." Mox swallowed, it was still hard to admit, especially that he, Jon Moxley had been abused, not just Timmy. Like it or not, Timmy was and always would be a part of him. "And had me abused by others. _And,_ made a lot of money off of me by making movies and selling them." The words exhausted him, and he flopped onto the floor of the ring to sit.

"Yeah, Roman filled me in a bit," Seth admitted as he sat down across from him. "Not about the movies, Skipback mentioned those. And Roman didn't go into detail, I just sorta connected the dots. But it doesn't matter. You didn't _want_ to do those things, they _made_ you. It doesn't matter, you're still my friend and the Reigns think you're family, and you can't just throw that away."

"Oh, it matters," Mox disagreed. "It matters _big _time. Because Skipback isn't the only one who saw those movies. I went on the internet last night, I was on it almost all night, checking things out and eventually, I found a place where a lot of the Timmy movies could be found and downloaded. I know my kidnappers sold them, but I guess some folks made copies of them and put them up on some really sleazy download sites. A lot of other movies that I think might have been like the Timmy movies, but with other people, other kids probably. I didn't check those out, but I checked out all the Timmy stuff." A bitter smile crossed his face. "I'm a goddamned internet porn star. Some of the comments that had been left..." He couldn't go on. The comments were the worst, reading about how great he was, how "hot" his movies left people. One kept running in his head, _ "God, every time I watch one of his movies, I swear I shoot so hard I'm putting dents in my ceiling. That kid was born to be fucked." _

"So?" Seth frustration was leaking from him as if it were perspiration, "Again, it's not _your_ fault. You were a kid and you were forced into it."

"The ones when I was younger? Yeah, that's obvious, but some of the later ones-" He paused and took another deep breath, "I got too old for the real kiddie fuckers, and I knew if iI didn't think of something I'd be killed, because that's how they did things, kid got to old, and it was time for the dirt nap. So, I suggested we make movies where-" another pause, another deep breath. "I looked like more of a sex starved teenager than a frightened kid. I was thinking about movies with me and older women, which was a lot of them. But one time-" _No, I will not tell Seth about Little Suzie. God, he might find out anyway, but I just can't bring myself to tell him! _"-Well, let's just say I'm a good actor and it would be very easy to think that I was enjoying myself, not being victimized."

"Again, so _what?"_ Seth's voice rose in pitch and volume and Mox almost slapped his hand over his mouth to quiet him. "You were still a _kid!_ And your family doesn't care." He stopped and backtracked. "I mean, they care that you were hurt, but they don't think any less of you or think you're to blame. I don't either."

"And that means a lot to me," Mox said. He was growing frustrated with this, he had to get going. "I know that my family will risk everything to protect me, but this is way out of their hands. Skipback knew about the movies and he blabbed. Hell, one of the campers, Damien Priest, asked Roman about it, because he'd heard Ryback was telling people that I was a porn star. I know Dad told Ryback to keep his mouth shut, but he _didn't_, he started telling folks the moment he got out of earshot. And if he could recognize and out me, there are hundreds, possibly thousands of others that could and would too. Maybe most people pretending to be decent won't admit to watching kiddie porn, but enough of them, like Ryback won't care. They'll talk about it, and soon enough word will get around. 'That kid, that Jon Moxley guy who the Reigns took in, he made porn movies!' Then, nobody will want to send their teenagers here for the summer teen session, because maybe I'm a pervert who will rape them. Even adults who want to be wrestlers won't come here, either, especially the women, because why take the chance? The next thing you know it, the camp is ruined and the Reigns are ruined. Lance is still young, how do you think that will affect him? He won't have friends over after school, because their parents won't let them come. Can't take a chance with the pervert around. Imagine if folks knew that the_ Reigns_ knew I did those movies and they_ still_ decided to adopt me? They'll never understand, they'll never want to understand. They won't ask, they'll just judge. They won't even care that I was forced to do a lot of them, they might not even hear about that, but they will hear that I'm a former porn star and I appear to be really enjoying myself. I-I owe the Reigns everything. I _won't_ pay them back by ruining their livelihood and their reputation."

"You can't fix everything," Seth said. "You have to talk to your parents, they might think of something you haven't, a way to protect you."

"I talked to Sefa, he knows… well, if not everything, he knows the worst of it."

"And what did he say?"

Mox wondered if Seth knew how angry and demanding he sounded. _Calm down. Don't make me regret I asked you to help me. _"He told me that wasn't my problem, that it was his and Jen's job as my parents to protect me and I shouldn't worry about it."

"See-"

"They don't _have_ a solution," Mox said, talking over him. "They're just going to go on and hope they can fix shit as it happens. They can't. And I won't let them." His fingers flew along his collar bone. "Look, it's not like I'm going to be living on the streets. I'm going to my… uh, other family. Donna, the woman who gave birth to me, her husband and my half brother and sister. They live a very low key lifestyle, I think I'll be safe with them. At least until I'm eighteen, then I'll go out on my own."

Seth glared at him, but Mox could see some of the anger subsiding, being replaced with a sadness and Mox knew with sadness, often came resignation. "But-but you want to be a wrestler!"

Mox forced himself to grin as if it didn't matter much. "That's a dream I'll probably have to give up. It's okay though, I probably wouldn't make it to the big time, anyway. Maybe I can wrestle in some tiny promotion that will slide under the radar."

"No!" Seth leaped to his feet and shook his head. "You can't _do_ that!"

"Yes, I can," Mox said. It was taking everything he had and more to keep his voice level. Why couldn't Seth see he didn't want to leave, but he _had_ to? He was doing this to protect them, and Seth just was not able to get it. "The Reigns haven't officially adopted me yet, I have every right to go live with her, she's said I can. I have every right to be Dean Ambrose if I want to. Look, Seth, this isn't up for discussion. All I need you to do is give my da- uh, Sefa or Jen the letter. That's it."

"You could have left the letter in the kitchen or something," Seth said, sitting down again. "Why did you have to come to _me?" _

Mox sighed. "You're my brother, Seth, as much to me as Roman is. This last month might be the happiest month in my life, because I worked with both of you. We made SPWA history, but this might be it, I might never get a chance to wrestle with you, or even against you, ever again. You'll go on to be a famous wrestler, I'll go on to be… something else. A part time wrestler, maybe. But, I wanted to say goodbye, just in case we never see each other again."

Seth's eyes began glistening. "Dude, no, you can't _do_ this."

That was when Mox knew Seth would do what he asked. He wouldn't want to, but he'd do it. "Seth, please, just give them the letter."

"They're going to wonder why I didn't wake them up right after you left so they could find you and stop you," Seth said. "How will that look?"

Mox shrugged, pretending it was no big deal, but he'd thought about that earlier. "Give me a head start," he said. "That's all I'm asking. Tell them you woke up and found the envelope, I wrote on it that I wanted you to give it to them. Let them think you just found out about it. I know you're a shit liar, but pretend it's a promo. Will you do that for me? Give me a head start? That's all I want, three or four hours to get out of here so they can't stop me."

"How are you going to get there?" Seth asked.

"I've got money," Mox said, crossing his toes in his sneakers, "I'm flying back to Cincinnati."

"Mox," Seth said, taking one last stab at changing Mox's mind, "I don't want to do this."

"I know," Mox said. "And I get it, but _will_ you do it? Will you let me have a head start?"

Seth hesitated, the emotions on his face switching from anger to sadness, an inner conflict going on. Finally, he nodded. "I'll do it. I'll give you a head start before I go to your folks."

"Thanks." Mox hesitated, looking at Seth. "Would it be weird if I hugged you?"

Seth didn't answer with words, he threw his arms around Mox, giving him a hug. Mox hugged him back. When they drew apart, Seth asked, "how are you going to get to the airport?"

Mox picked up his duffle bag. "One of the students in this session lives in Miami, so he drove here and he's driving home tonight. I talked to him and he's willing to give me a ride." When Seth scowled, Mox hastened to explain, "Look, he cleared out his life savings to come here and train. He's broke, and I offered him money. I can't blame him."

"_I_ can," Seth muttered.

"No, you can't," Mox said. "And, since you're going to tell my folks you found the letter when you woke up, you won't know how I got to the airport, will you?"

"No." Seth looked down at the ground. "But won't your folks figure it out by who is missing in the morning?"

Mox shook his head. Looking over Seth's shoulder, he saw his ride in the parking lot and the lights of his car were on, telling him he'd better move it. "We've got eight students who drove here. Some left right after the show, others will wait until early morning, before or after breakfast. And, nobody will know I didn't thumb a ride unless you tell them." He slung the bag over his shoulder. "Sorry, I'd love to talk longer, but I've got to move." Before Seth could offer further objections, he climbed out of the ring and hurried up the rise to where his ride was waiting.

.

When he got to the car, he opened the back door, throwing the duffle bag in.

"You ready?" the driver, wrestler who worked under the name Elijah Gonzolaz asked.

Mox nodded. As he opened the passenger door, he looked down at the ring, where Seth was standing, watching him. He raised his hand in a wave, and then got into the car.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Seth watched as the car pulled out of the parking area, taking Mox away. He had made a promise, and he would keep it. He would give Mox his head start.

But, he _didn't_ promised to give Mox until morning, only to give him a head start. Seth knew if he ran right this minute to let the Reign's know, it would be breaking his promise, but wasn't two hours a head start? Or an hour? Or, even _half_ an hour? _It's breaking the spirit of my promise, but not the letter._ He also had only promised not to tell his _folks._ _Roman, _he thought, _ I'll give him half an hour and then tell Roman. Roman can tell his folks, he didn't promise Mox anything_."

His cell phone was in the pocket of his shorts. He pulled it out and looked at the time. _Half an hour, Mox. That's it. Then I raise the alarm. _

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Elijah pulled up in front of the all night convenience store. "Here you are," he said, a redundant comment, since Mox had pulled his duffle out as they were pulling in, ready to go.

Mox reached into the pocket on his T-shirt and drew out two, hundred dollar bills. "This isn't just gas money, this is keep-your-mouth-shut money."

"Yeah," Elijah said, looking bored with Mox's show of toughness. The guy was six feet tall and built like a Sherman tank. He had been one of the few guys at the camp who could make Ryback look almost normal in stature. "I get it. I think you're being an idiot, but I get it."

"The things we do for love," Mox said, shrugging. He'd told Elijah he needed a ride to meet a girl the Reigns would not approve of. Fortunately, Elijah hadn't asked why he needed a duffle bag to meet a girl. He got out of the car, shut the door and headed into the store.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

The only other person in the store was a very bored looking young girl, who smiled wearily when Mox came up to the counter. "What can I get you?"

"I need a ticket to the terminal," Mox said. The closest bus terminal was over an hour away, but some online searching told him. he could get a bus here to take him to the terminal.

The girl nodded and turned to an industrial looking computer. She punched information in, and a few seconds later, a ticket popped out of a slot. She smiled as she started to ring it up, looking grateful to have something to do. "Are you going to be taking another bus when you get there?" she asked, pausing from ringing him up.

"That was the idea," Mox said, resisting a sarcastic comeback. Why else would he be going to a bus terminal, if he wasn't going to catch a bus?

"If you know what bus you're going to take, you can buy your ticket here," the girls said. "So you won't have to stand in line to buy one at the terminal, you can just get on the bus."

_That sounds good to me. _Mox knew the bus he wanted, too, from his internet search. "That sounds convenient," Mox said. "I'll do that." He told her what she needed to know, and she turned back to the computer.

Less than five minutes later, Mox had paid for his ticket, and put it in the outer pocket of his duffel bag. He thanked her for her help and went outside to wait for the bus. According to the schedule posted in the store, the next bus would be along in about twenty minutes. The bus he'd need to take at the terminal would be leaving at six, and Mox knew he'd been cutting it close with that, but now that he had his ticket, he was a lot more confident he'd get there on time. Provided _this_ bus wasn't late.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Roman," Seth whispered, "Wake up. Please don't make me talk louder, I don't want to wake Lance."

Roman opened his eyes, expecting to see Mox. When he saw it was Seth, he frowned. "What are you doing in here?" he asked.

"I snuck in," Seth said. "And I need to talk to you, it's an emergency, and I don't want to wake Lance. It's about Mox."

Hearing Mox's name associated with the word emergency acted like a bucket of ice water being thrown on him. Roman sat up, looking at Seth, "What's happened?"

"He ran off," Seth said. "I'll tell you more, but let's get out of this room!"

Roman did not need to be told twice. He stood up and made his way to his dresser. Grabbing the first pair of jeans in the drawer, he put them on as fast as possible. Not bothering with a shirt, or taking the time to put on proper shoes, he slid his feet into a pair of flip flops and motioned for Seth to follow him.

Their silence continued until the moment they got outside. "What happened?" Roman said. "What's going on? Why did Mox run off? I thought he and Dad had worked it out!"

"They did," Seth said, "but then Mox went on the 'net and found a place where his movies were. Now he's convinced that he has to leave before everyone finds out."

"Aw _fuck!"_ Roman swore.

"He gave me a letter to give to your parents," Seth said, holding up the envelope. "He wanted to give it to your father first, if I could."

"Gimmie that," Roman said, snatching it out of Seth's hand. He knew he was coming across like a jerk, but he didn't care, he would say he was sorry, later. He opened the envelope and pulled out the letter and walked over to where the porch light was shining to get a closer look. It was handwritten taking up the front and back of a piece of lined paper:

_Dear Dad and Mom,_

_I know all of you would never reject me for my past, but the rest of the world isn't going to do that. I've done some searching on the net and I was able to find the Timmy movies and you know I'm not the internet junkie Lance is. If I could find them, __anyone__ can. _

_I can't risk you guys. I love you, you have been so good to me, and I know you'd say you don't care, but __I__ do. I'd rather give up wrestling than have your reputation and the reputation of the camp destroyed. That's why I'm leaving._

_I'm not really running away, either. I'm going to go to Ohio and give living with Donna and my stepfamily another try. Faulk told me I was smart enough to go to college, so maybe I'll do that. I want to keep in touch, I just don't want folks judging you because of me. _

_Don't blame Seth for this. I made him wait until morning before giving this to you. Because I wanted to say goodbye. I didn't want to leave it in the kitchen, in case Lance found it first. _

_I love all of you!_

_Mox_

_PS: Please say goodbye to The Order for me, will you? You don't have to tell them I ran off, just tell them I had an emergency with my other family. That way, Raven won't get upset. She's a little emotional about that kind of thing. I'm sure you've figured out that under that tough exterior beats the heart of a marshmallow. _

Roman's hands were trembling as he folded the letter and tried to put it back into the half mangled envelope. "Damn it," he said, shaking his head. "If he really wanted to go live with his birth mom, that would be fine, but I _know_ he doesn't want that. He tried that earlier this summer and it was a complete fail."

Seth nodded. "So, what do we do?"

Roman knew what they'd do before Seth even asked. "We go find him. Did he tell you how he was going to get to Cincinnati?"

"He's taking a plane," Seth said. "He had one of the campers with a car take him to the airport. He didn't say which wrestler though."

"Okay, then we go to the airport," Roman said, heading back into the house. "I need to go put a shirt on and get the keys to Mom's car. Do you want to come with me to the airport?"

Seth nodded. "I couldn't talk him out of it alone, but maybe the both of us can."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When Roman ran inside, Seth pulled out his cell phone. _Maybe I can talk to him. Maybe if he sees it's from me, he'll take the call and I can find out something important, like his flight number. _

He knew it was a long shot, but he still felt disappointed when it went directly to voicemail.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Roman was hoping he'd be out of the house in less than five minutes, but once he was inside, he realized that was an unrealistic goal. He'd been lucky enough to find a not-so-dirty shirt in the laundry room, so he wouldn't have to run upstairs and risk waking Lance. The shirt passed the sniff test, so he put it on, realizing only after he was done, that it was a Heartland Wrestling shirt, which meant it was one of Mox's. _He's done some serious growing since he's been here. _He still wasn't at Roman's level, but Roman realized the shirt wasn't straining as it might have done six months ago.

He had a pair of sneakers in the mud room, and as he was putting those on, he realized he'd have to leave a note of his own. He still had Mox's letter in his back pocket, so he decided to leave his note on the envelope. Grabbing a pen, he hastily wrote:

_Mom, Dad, _

_Mom, I took your car, sorry about that, but it's easier to drive and find parking for. Mox has run off, he left a note. Seth is with me, he says Mox told him he was flying to Ohio. We're going to go to the airport to stop him. Read the letter in the envelope and you'll know what's going on._

_If you want to ground me for taking the car, feel free, just let me get Mox first_.

He grabbed the keys from one of the hooks by the door, and hurried outside. Seth was out there, shifting from one foot to the other and he looked relieved when he saw Roman. "I tried to call him, but it went right to voicemail."

Roman nodded, heading to his mom's car. "Another sign he knows this is a bad idea, but he doesn't want us to talk him out of it."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When the bus dropped Mox off at the Greyhound terminal, his bus was already there and passengers were getting on. He hurried over and showed the driver his ticket. His duffel bag was a little too large to carry on, so he let them put it in the luggage area.

He was the last person to board the bus, but luckily, it wasn't too crowded and he was able to find a window seat with an empty seat next to it. He sat down and realized he'd left the two paperback books he'd brought along in his duffel bag. _This is going to be a long trip, _he thought. He knew he had to transfer to at least one other bus on this trip, maybe then he'd be able to get into his duffel bag.

But, for right now, he was exhausted. He hadn't slept the night before, because he'd been searching the net and now it was almost dawn and he hadn't slept either. He reclined the seat as far as he could and closed his eyes.

He'd been afraid he wouldn't be able to sleep due to nerves, but exhaustion had served to calm him. He was asleep before the bus left the terminal.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"What do we do?" Jen asked. Her hands were trembling as she lowered Mox's note. "What do we _do?"_ she repeated.

Sefa had been the one to find the notes, both Roman's and Mox's and he ran his fingers through his hair. "You're not going to like this, but I think we should let Roman and Seth handle this." When Jen's brows shot up, he hastened to explain. "I _tried,_ Jen. I told him we'd handle it and that it wasn't his job to worry about it, but it didn't work. Roman and Seth might have better luck."

"_Might?"_ Jen's nostrils flared and for a moment, Sefa expected flames to shoot out of them.

_Oh boy, I am on thin ice and it is cracking under my feet._ Sefa drew in a deep breath. "Jen, Mox is right about some things. Most important, he's right about having every right to go live with Donna."

"She signed custody over to us!" Jen protested.

"Yes, but _signing_ over custody isn't the same as _losing_ custody," Sefa said. "She agreed to give us custody because it was in Mox's best interest. Until we adopt him, she'd have the right to petition the courts for custody, if she suddenly felt she would be a better parent than we are. And, Mox is old enough that the courts would take what he says seriously."

"What?" Jen made that one word span two otives. "We _are_ good parents! And until all this-this-this _bullshit_ with that _horrible_ Ryback came along, Jon _wanted_ to stay with us!"

"I know," Sefa said. "But you read the note and his concerns are valid."

"Sefa, he was a _child_ when he made those films. He's _still _a child in the legal sense of the word, he can't be held responsible!"

"Legally? Maybe not, but people will talk," Sefa said. "And he's right about the movies he made being able to be found pretty easily. I did some checking of my own, and I'm less computer savvy than he is, and _I _could find them. Mox is right, he's risking everyone finding out."

"So?" Jen said. "Are you saying you're_ glad _he's run off?"

"Don't put words in my mouth," Sefa snapped. "Of course I'm not. I love him too. But, I understand why he did it. What if it _is_ discovered? The more people talk, the less it will be about him being forced as a kid and more about the later ones he did where he looked anything _but_ forced. People won't want to see the films, at least not decent folks, but they'll talk about it. We could lose the camp over it. People may refuse to come here because we're housing someone they see to be a potential a pervert. Our reputations could be ruined. Are you ready for that?"

"If it's about Jon, you bet I am." The glint in Jen's eye so sharp it could cut a diamond.

"Okay, but what about Lance?" Is it fair to Lance to have everyone point to him as the kid with the porn star brother?

Jen opened her mouth to speak and then shut it, as what Sefa said seemed to be really sinking in. "I-I didn't think about that."

"You don't have to think about it," Lance said, coming into the kitchen. "You can ask me about it, I'm right here."

_I should have known this was going to happen. _Sefa looked at his son. "How much did you listen and how much do you know?"

"I listened long enough to hear what was going on," Lance said, his voice cool, "and, just so you don't have to try other ways to say it, I know what porn movies are. I'm not a baby anymore."

"You haven't watched any, have you?" Jen asked, looking horrified.

"No," Lance said.

_Smooth liar, _Sefa thought, but kept to himself. Lies were not encouraged in the Reign's household, but Sefa understood; no son wanted to confess to their mother that they had seen porn. No mother wanted to hear her son had watched porn. "So, you understand that there are movies out there that Mox is in?" Sefa asked.

Lance nodded. "I haven't seen them," he said, looking at Sefa. "And I won't. Mox is my brother and the guys that made him do those movies are… _evil._ I wish both of them had died that day, not just Simon. I don't want to see Mox being-" he paused to take a deep breath. He looked as if he might be trying to find a kinder way to describe what was happening to Mox, then he shrugged and firmly said, "I don't want to watch my brother being raped."

Sefa and Jen exchanged looks and then looked at Lance. "So, you're saying you don't care about Mox's past, even if it affects our future?" Sefa asked.

"I _don't _care," Lance said. "We told Mox we didn't care about his past we accepted him. If we just let him go back to the Millers, then we're liars and what we should have said was that we didn't care about his past,_ as long as nobody else finds out about it. _We shouldn't be even _talking_ about this. Because you know what _will_ make him look responsible for any of that? Being abandoned by the folks who took him in."

Sefa was proud of the kid. Lance was intelligent to the point where he put people off. Because he often spoke before he thought. The Lance of a year ago would have said, "I don't care, he's my brother, so there." And, quoted statistics on the odds of Mox getting discovered. Instead, Lance gave out a good argument, not just trying to appeal to the logical side of things, but to the emotional as well.

"That being said," Lance continued, looking at his mother, "I agree with Dad that you should let Roman and Seth handle it. They're his age and they're really close. And Roman can do the emotional argument really well." He paused and when he spoke again, he was doing an almost perfect imitation of Roman's voice, "'You can't leave, Mox. You're my brother. You'll _always_ be my brother!'"

Again, Sefa and Jen exchanged looks, but this time, Sefa was trying not to laugh, then he grew serious. "How will you handle it if Mox refuses to come home with them?"

Lance frowned. "He's not in the middle of nowhere, I'll email him, text him, even call him and pester him until he comes home. But, maybe you ought to figure out what you're doing to do when Raven and May come downstairs, because I think I can hear the upstairs shower."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

For a couple of kids who hardly had any information to go on, Roman thought he and Seth were doing pretty good. The airport was busy, but they waited in line at one of the ticket counters and by being very patient, very nice, and maybe a little bit flirty, Roman was able to find out there were no direct flights to Cincinnati, but there was a flight leaving for Chicago in an hour, and if their friend really was going to Cincinnati, that would be the first stop on the journey.

"Chicago is a big hub," Seth said, nodding to the clerk, who probably didn't even see him, because she was too busy staring at Roman. "He'll fly there and then get a flight to Ohio."

Roman thanked the woman, who clearly didn't know he was underage, and they ran to the gate, positive they'd find Mox.

Mox wasn't there.

They looked around and started asking folks who were waiting for their plane if they'd seen someone who matched Mox's description. Roman had a picture in his wallet of him and he showed that to folks. While he did that, Seth checked the closest shops and the men's bathroom.

No Mox.

Just in case he was hiding somewhere, having seen them and waiting for them to leave, they "hid" in the gift shop and watched as the plane boarded, waiting for Mox to come sauntering around the corner and go to join the other passengers boarding.

No Mox.

Roman went over to the window and put his hands on it, and leaned, staring at the plane as it taxied away from the gate, as if he expected the plane to stop, return to the gate, and Mox to run out and back into the terminal. "I failed," he whispered.

"Then I did too," Seth said, feeling miserable. "I couldn't get him to stay. I should have tried harder, and I shouldn't have given him any head start, I should have gone and gotten you."

Roman sighed, shrugged and turned away from the window. "If he had been flying, that would have been the plane, he'd have taken, I'm sure of it. So, I'm betting he lied about flying. Shit, he's really determined to do this."

"Yeah," Seth agreed, letting out a long sigh. "He sounded determined when he told me. And sad too. Like he really doesn't want to leave you guys, but he really believes it's for the best."

"Like he's willing to sacrifice everything he's wanted to protect us," Roman said.

"Yeah," Seth agreed.

Now Roman was the one who sighed. "I guess I should take you back to the camp."

"Yeah, so I can get my stuff and come back here," Seth said, weakly.

Roman gave a snort that was both amused and bitter. "We should have brought it along, then I could have just dropped you off. How long is it to your flight, anyway?"

"About three hours," Seth said.

"Then we haven't got much time." Roman began walking away from the window, heading towards the exit.

"I could call Mustafa and ask him to pack my stuff and bring it to the airport, he's taking the same flight I am." Seth said.

"Nah, it's cool, you probably still have a few things to pack."

Just my toothbrush and that kind of stuff," Seth said. "I packed up everything else last night." Roman didn't respond and the two of them continued to head towards the exit together. "Look," Seth finally said to break the silence, "I get why you're upset, I am too. But… well, he is going to his mother's place-"

"_Donna's_ place," Roman corrected, "he told me when he came home that he'd never be able to think of Donna as his mother, that _Mom _was his mom."

"Sorry," Seth said. "But, he's not going to disappear, you can always reach him. I know he's got his cell phone off now, but he won't keep it off."

"He will for awhile," Roman said, looking grim. "I know him well enough. He'll email or something, let us know he's safe and then go silent. And I'm afraid the longer he's there, the harder it will be to convince him. He thinks this is his only option, so he's going to do everything he has to do to make it right this time. That's why I wanted to catch him before he left, I thought if I could talk to him before he settled in-" Roman stopped abruptly.

Seth didn't realize until he had gotten a couple steps ahead that Roman wasn't next to him, then he turned. Romam was staring at a Starbucks shop off to the side. "Uh, you wanna get some coffee?" Seth asked.

Roman nodded. "I want more than coffee. I want the largest, most caffeinated drink they have, then I'm going to ask them to add all the extra espresso shots allowed by law. And, some flavored syrup to make it less bitter." He looked at Seth, "Do you want one?"

"I don't drink coffee," Seth said.

"You might want to start," Roman said, heading into the shop. "Because I have an idea."

* * *

**Author's Notes: ** This story will be concluded in three more chapters. Well, two chapters and an epilogue. Thank you to anyone who's stuck it out this far. And thanks to everyone who took the time to f/f or leave a review. I really appreciate all your lovely encouragement.

I thought this would be the last of this world for awhile, but I have at least one more one shot that I'll be publishing when this is over, and I'm actually working on a longer story as well. Plus, I have an idea for another story set in this universe that I would like to write too. So, yeah, Mox Reigns is not going to be going anywhere for awhile, it seems.


	20. Chapter 20

**Random Observation:** I have never been a woman who felt she needed to have lots of shoes. I have five pairs of shoes, and four of them are sneakers. But, the coffee shop I'm in is right next to an Amazon Locker place and a woman just came in to open and inspect six huge boxes. All of them contain boots. Three pairs of boots per box. A male friend or S/O) carried them over one by one by one. She took each pair of shoes out of the box and tried them on to make sure they fit.

This means this woman just bought 18 pairs of new boots for herself. This is Virginia, where boot weather is usually over by March. So, in this winter, she needs 18 pairs of boots. It boggles my mind. Of course, she could have seventeen friends who all have the same shoe size, but I doubt it.

I am not insulting or implying there is anything wrong with this woman, I'm just boggled that she feels the need to have _eighteen _pairs of winter boots.

* * *

.

**Chapter Twenty**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

To the best of his knowledge, Mox had never taken a bus before. Perhaps when he was Dean, the little kid, he went on a field trip with his class and rode in a school bus, but he had no memory of that.

He slept surprisingly well through the first three stops.

Having traveled from Cincinnati to Florida with Roman and his father, he was surprised that a drive that took them about twelve hours with stops, was going to take over 24 on the bus, but he soon realized that the bus wasn't taking a direct route and they were making an awful lot of stops. He appreciated not having to use the bathroom on the bus, but he might have been willing to risk it, if it meant he got to Ohio faster.

When he'd refilled his energy and the rolling motion of the bus was no longer able to lull him back to sleep, Mox realized that a _long_ bus ride was a _boring_ ride. And a boring ride, meant lots of time to think.

He knew he was doing the right thing, what he didn't realize was how much the right thing was going to _hurt_. He had been so tempted to follow Sefa's advice and just let his parents figure it out, but when he found out most of the camp probably knew who he was, and that his movies were all over the net, he realized that sometimes love meant getting away from the ones who you loved so you didn't hurt them.

_When I get settled back in at Donna's place, I'm going to talk to Lance, email him or text him, and tell him to take down all the crap on the website with me in it. All the pictures, all the matches and promos he's got for download. I know it won't stop all of it, I'm sure some of those have been uploaded to file share sites. I can't stop that, but I can talk him into minimizing the damage. _

The only good thing, and again, it was a good thing that didn't make him_ feel_ good, was that he'd made it to the bus and was on his way. He knew had he stuck around and told his family (_No, the Reigns, _he reminded himself,_ they're the Reigns now)_ he was leaving, they would have been able to talk him into staying. Let him get to the Millers. He would explain to Donna what was going on. Donna would get it, and understand that staying with her and the Millers was safer than staying with the Reigns. He wasn't sure what Jacob would think, part of him might think that Mox shouldn't stay with the kids in the house, but he didn't think Donna would tell him. And if he discovered it on his own? Well, he'd deal with it then.

_I'll come clean with Les and Cody too,_ he thought. _Maybe they'll let me work for them for lessons again. I know they'll never want to put me on TV, but maybe I can wrestle in house shows. _

The next time the bus stopped, it was in a terminal right next door to a convenience store. Mox went over and took one of the thickest books they had, a Stephen King novel called _Bag of Bones_. He thought it would be enough to get him through the trip, but he saw another King Book,_ The Stand_, which was even thicker and he took that one too. He also bought some beef jerky and two bottles of water. _This should keep me from thinking so much._

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

When the bus rolled into the Cincinnati terminal, it was after nine, and almost completely dark outside. He had the trash from his jerky and water bottles in a bag, and he was half way through_ The Stand_. A couple people had tried to talk to him, but he didn't want to talk, he was afraid they'd start talking about their families or something and that would depress him further.

The terminal was quiet, except for the few passengers that got off his bus. Mox got his duffel bag, found a waste can to throw his trash in, put the new paperbacks into his bag, and then sat down and pulled out his cell phone. _You still owe me, _he thought as he found the name of the person he wanted to talk to in his contact list, and hit the call button.

They answered on the second ring. "Mox?"

"Yeah, it's me," Mox said. "And I need a favor from you. I need a ride to the Miller house."

"Where are you? You're not suggesting I come to Florida, are you?"

Mox laughed and it sounding bitter to his own ears. "No, Faulk, I'm at the Greyhound terminal."

"I'm on my way," Faulk said. "It shouldn't take me more than twenty minutes or so."

"Cool," Mox said. "Don't worry about breaking any speed limits, I'm fine."

When he hung up the phone, he bought a Coke at the vending machine and went outside to wait. It was a hot, sticky night, and he rolled the cold can of soda over his forehead and behind his neck before drinking. It didn't do much to help.

Faulk pulled up a half hour later, apologetic that he wasn't there sooner, but that there had been traffic. Mox threw his duffel bag in the back seat and climbed in. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Shit happens."

Faulk stayed silent until he'd maneuvered his way out of the parking lot and onto the road. There was a traffic light right after the terminal and it was red, that's when Faulk broke the silence. "So, you're back?"

"I'm here, aren't I?" Mox said, shrugging. Inwardly, he knew he was being rude, but he wasn't sure what to say, or how to say it so it didn't sound like some Jerry Springer drama shit.

"Well, yes, obviously," Faulk said, flustered enough that he didn't realize the light was green until someone behind him honked, which flustered him further, but he managed to start driving again. "I'm just wondering, if this is, uh, for good or another visit?"

Mox hesitated before answering, not because he didn't know, but because it hurt to think it, and he knew it would hurt more to say it. "It's for good. That is, if Donna lets me stay with her and the Millers. I mean, I know she will, but I knew she and Jacob had some discussions about me and I'm not sure I'm good for her marriage, you know what I mean? But, I'm hoping they'll let me live there until I'm eighteen."

"What will you do if they won't?" Faulk asked.

Mox shrugged. "I'll figure it out. I know Donna won't throw me out on the streets."

"I-I thought you were happier in Florida," Faulk said, then sighed. "I'm prying too much, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Mox said, "but I get it, you care and all."

He thought Faulk might nod and agree, but instead he sighed again. "You know, I still feel like a shit for what happened that time…" his voice trailed off.

"When you went to kiss me and I throat raped you with my tongue?" Mox's voice was bright, although he winced inwardly. "Don't worry about it. Blame my fucked upbringing."

"I got to admit, the kiss back was a shock, but I never should have kissed you in the first place." Faulk's face was flushed. "You were upset about other things, and I took it to mean you were gay and confused. Because an awful lot of what you said, like how you weren't normal and all, it sounded like the stuff I thought when I was trying to come to grips with being gay. I was totally off base, I know."

"Not as off base as you think," Mox said. _ If I'm going to be living here, I have to clue him in. _"I _have_ banged a lot of dudes, so I might give off some weird vibe. I don't mean to if I do. I've banged a lot of women too. But here's the thing, Faulk, I was doing it since I was five years old, and it wasn't my choice."

"_What?" _

Mox was certain if Faulk had been drinking anything, it would have ended up sprayed all over his windshield. "I told you I'd been taken when I was a kid and I think I even told you it was by a couple of guys. Why do you _think_ they took me?"

"I-I wasn't sure," Faulk said. "But I should have realized it was a possibility. Shit, I'm sorry."

"It's cool, Faulk, it's water under the bridge as they say," Mox said. "But when it comes to that type of stuff? I'm just not interested. I had too much forced on me when I was younger and it's got my head pretty fucked up. Right now, I think of myself as an asexual celibate. I don't care about sex or not."

"So you have no idea if you're straight, gay, or bisexual?"

Mox shrugged. I suspect I'm straight. There was a girl at the camp this summer, Raven. Tough chick, awesome wrestlers and we were friends. She's been through some shit herself. Not nearly what I've been through, but similar enough that she's not too keen on sex herself. Her sister, who was there too, said she had SAD, Sexual Aversion Disorder. And, to be honest? That's probably what I have too, but I hate that term, because it makes it sound like it's a sickness and it needs to be cured. Anyway, we talked a lot, and there were times when my brain would say, _if you two weren't so fucked up about things, you'd probably be necking. _I had another good friend, Seth, he became like a brother to me, but I never had that feeling with him. I never had it with Mustafa, another guy I became friends with. Only Raven."

"Do you think that someday you," Faulk began, then let his voice drift off, not sure how to put his question.

"Might no longer be asexual, and become an oversexed teenager like I should be?" Mox finished for him, and his grin was genuine. "I have no clue. But, even though the odds are I'll never want to date you, I still want to be your friend. Can you deal with just being friends?"

Faulk looked visibly relieved. "Yeah, I can. And I'd like that. You don't know how glad I am that you've been contacting me, I thought I'd blown any chance of us ever being friends again."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

It was almost ten o'clock when Faulk dropped Mox off at the Miller house, which meant Amber and Zach should be in bed. That suited Mox just fine, he really didn't want to deal with his step siblings now. "Should I wait or something?" Faulk asked when he pulled into the driveway. "Just in case Jacob, uh, makes a fuss?"

Mox shook his head. "They won't kick me out, I told you."

"Yeah, but it can be uncomfortable... " Faulk shrugged, "Whatever, I'm being overprotective. Good luck."

"Thanks."

When Faulk drove away, Mox stared at the house, and drew in a deep breath. It hadn't been all bad in here. He remembered Faulk and him making dinner for Amber and Zach and how impressed they had been. He'd fixed Amber's bike and taught a bully a lesson too. Jacob had shown him how to ride a bike. Not in the house, but he associated it with the house. _I can make it work, _he told himself. _I didn't try hard enough the last time, because deep down, I wanted to go ho - back to the Reigns. That's not an option anymore, so I _will_ make this work. _

He wasn't sure if Donna and Jacob were still awake, and he still had a key to the house, so he let himself in the front door. The place seemed both familiar and unfamiliar to him, it was hard to believe it had been less than two months he'd been gone. He dropped his duffel in the hall near the coat tree. Unable to resist and trying to keep from sounding bitter, he called out, "Hey, I'm home."

He started to head to the living room, when Donna came in from the living room. "Mox," she said, not sounding surprised he was there.

_Someone must have called and warned her. Probably Mo-Jen. That would be the type of thing she'd do. _He forced himself to smile. "I'm back," he said, feeling embarrassed. "You, uh, said I always had a home with you, I hope you weren't just saying that."

"I meant it," Donna said. She walked over to him. "But, I know what's going on. About the movies and all and that's why you left the Reigns."

_Wow, Jen must have really spilled her guts, _Mox thought. "So, are you saying you don't want me to stay?" He felt one of those balls forming inside of him, all the bad emotions rolling up on themselves and he'd have to shove it deep inside of him, where it would sit with the thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of balls of negative that he knew would one day be the death of him.

"No, of course not!" Donna was close enough to him, and she did something she hadn't done since he was five years old, when he'd still been Dean Ambrose. She hugged him. "I _always_ want you to stay," she said, holding him so tightly, that Mox knew she had wanted to do this to him since he'd seen her in the airport for the first time in over ten years. "I just want to make sure you're back for the right reasons."

He found himself hugging her back, and it wasn't that bad. "I _am_ back for the right reasons."

"Jacob and Zach are off on a cub scout camping trip," Donna said, "And Amber is asleep. Why don't we go into the living room and discuss this."

"Okay," Mox said, a little cautiously. What was there to discuss? But he followed her into the living room and stopped.

Sitting in the living room were Roman and Seth. He stared, then closed his eyes and shook his head, wondering if he was imagining them. When he opened his eyes, they were still there.

"Hey _Bro,"_ Roman said, hitting the last word hard. "We need to talk to you. And we came all the way here from Florida, so I think you ought to listen."

* * *

Thanks to everyone who has been reading, f/f, and mostly those who have reviewing. I really appreciate it.


	21. Chapter 21

Sorry for those who checked earlier. I posted the wrong chapter of the story. It's fixed now.

* * *

.

**Chapter Twenty One**

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Mox walked into the living room and sat down in the chair Donna usually sat in,then realized how rude he was being. Seth was on the sofa, Roman in the chair Jacob used. He started to get up to move over to the other end of the couch, but Donna shook her head. "I have some things I want to do in the bedroom, so don't worry.

When she left, Mox looked at Seth. "What the heck are you doing here? You were supposed to fly home Sunday."

"I know," Seth said, "And my parents are not happy about it, but I didn't give them a choice. At least my dad convinced my mother not to call the cops and put an APB on me."

"Would that be an Amber alert?" Mox couldn't help but ask. He knew all about Amber alerts, thanks to Lance. Lance seemed to think that if Amber Alerts had been around when Mox was taken, he would have been found. Mox never had the heart to tell him he'd been stuffed in a box in the back of a paneled van, there was nobody who would have seen him, to call.

The look on Seth's face matched the expression of someone who'd tasted lemonade before the sugar was added.

"We'll be taking him home when we're done here," Roman said. "It'll add about eight hours to the trip, counting stops, but we can do it."

When Roman said _we'll_ be taking him home, Mox felt his heart soar, even though he didn't want it to. Part of him wondered if this running off would be a final straw to the Reigns and they might actually just let him do it and be done with him. That was another reason why he hadn't wanted to just tell them he was leaving. Sure, he'd _told_ himself it was because he was afraid Sefa and Jen would protest and tell them they would watch out for him, but another part, a part he didn't want to admit, had also been afraid they might nod and tell him that was for the best, that they loved him, but they couldn't risk ruining the camp's reputation. "Do Sefa and Jen know you came here? To talk to me? Are they okay with this?"

"_Dad _and_ Mom_ weren't happy that I took off in Mom's car-"

"Where is the car?" Mox interrupted. "I didn't see it when Faulk dropped me off."

"We parked it up the street," Roman said. "So you wouldn't see it and take off again. Because dude, this running off thing is getting tiring. But, Mom and Dad weren't happy that I took the car. We went to the airport and you weren't there, so we decided to drive here and get you for ourselves."

"Why did you lie about the airport?" Seth asked, sounding hurt.

"Uh," Mox scratched his head, knowing that almost anything he said would sound wrong. "To make sure that if you broke your word, that everyone would be thrown off track."

"I _did_ keep my word," Seth said sounding indignant. "I gave you a head start. I never said how long it would be, I gave you half an hour. And I said I wouldn't tell your Mom and Dad before then. I never said I wouldn't tell Roman."

"And the two of you ran to the airport and I wasn't there," Mox finished. "_Now_ do you understand why I lied."

Roman shook his head. "Let's not argue that, okay? We're not here for that."

"How long have you been here?" Mox asked.

"Since last night."

"Where did you stay?" Mox asked.

"Here," Roman said, looking a little annoyed that Mox was asking all these questions. "We figured out you must have taken a bus, but we wanted to beat you up here, so we drove. We talked to your birth mother and she was nice enough to let us crash here. And that's the last of the questions _you_ get to ask."

Mox looked at his feet, feeling slightly chastised. "I-I'm just surprised, you know? It isn't like I was running off to join the circus. I came _here_. And, yeah, there were some issues when I was here before, but the Millers are a normal family, and Donna even gave birth to me. I just… thought this was for the best."

"Yeah," Roman said, and Mox could hear bitterness creeping in. "Who cares that we thought _we _were your family. I mean, I just thought you were my brother and all, and my parents were going to _adopt_ you. Some shit came up, so you just run off and act like we're supposed to pretend you were just some guy who lived with us and left."

"That's not fair!" Mox felt his nostrils flaring. "I didn't run off for me, I ran off for you guys!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Roman said, the bitterness in his voice taking on heat as well. "It was _all_ for us, you're just making a noble sacrifice. Here's the problem with that, you never asked _us_ if we wanted you to make that sacrifice. You put yourself on that cross and now you expect us to be _grateful_ that you did it? Bullshit. We're all upset about it. Lance feels bad, because he thinks he's the main person you want to protect, because he's under age."

Mox stared at him. "That's not what I meant."

"No, but it's what you _did,"_ Seth spoke up. "I mean, I'm not a Reigns, but we called ourselves brothers all summer. And we agreed we were both inside and outside of the ring. And when you used the brother thing to get me to give you time to get away, I was betraying my brotherhood with Roman. That wasn't fair to me."

"Fine," Mox said, trying not to grit his teeth because Seth did have a point. "That was wrong of me. I should have written you a note too, and just left."

"Or, maybe you should have talked to _both_ of us," Roman said. "Or better yet, talked to _all_ of us. Me, Seth, Mom, Dad, Lance, and Marc. Told us your concerns and let us tell you what we thought."

"You'd all be nice," Mox said, his hand going to his collarbone, and starting that rapid tapping with the tips of his fingers. "You'd do what D-Sefa did, and tell me that you'd all handle it. But Rome, what if this is too much to handle? What if word gets out and your whole family are branded as the family that took in the pervert." When he saw Roman open his mouth to protest, he kept right on talking. "I know what you're going to say, I was a kid, I was the victim. Or some variation of the theme. But like I told Seth and like you father knows, I did ones when I was older, like shortly before I ran away. And… they came across like I didn't mind doing them. And, in three of them, instead of me being the victim, it's clear I'm the victimizer. How do you think _that's _gonna fly when it gets out?"

"We don't care," Roman said, his voice flat. "You're family and family looks out for family. We don't care what the world thinks, we know the truth, and we stand by you."

"I know," Mox said, staring down at his feet. "And that's why I'm worried. You'll stick by me, but people will still _judge_. Even if I'm never brought up on charges, because I was under age, people will still judge. Guys who grew up like me have been known to become abusers themselves, and that's what those movies look like. Like I was raped and fucked around with so much, that I became what I hated. And that's what people are going to think happened to me."

"So what?" Roman said. "Mox, you're buying trouble. Yeah, okay, Skipback was enough of an idiot to open his mouth, but most folks won't. Most of the people who've even your movies aren't going to admit it, because ya know, most pedophiles don't advertise unless they're as stupid as Skipback."

"Most isn't_ all,"_ Mox said. "And word will get around. It got around the camp pretty fast. I heard you that night, I heard Damien asking you if I was a porn star. And that's the whole problem, when is it going to come out everywhere? I'll never be able to join the WWE or any other major promotion, because if I get famous, then someone, Ryback or someone else will start talking! Hey, I saw that guy in porno movies!'" Drumming along his collar bone wasn't enough, Mox got up from his chair and began pacing. "Or, we get another idiot like Ryback at the camp, even _before_ I become somebody. And _they_ start blabbing about it. And your family gets affected."

"If that happens, it _happens!"_ Roman said. "Mox, let me ask you straight out, what do you think my parents would do if it were _me_ that had been taken? Someone grabbed me, used me to make porn movies, and I escaped and came home. Should Mom and Dad get rid of me? Disown me? Send me to Samoa or Italy, as far away from them as possible to live with relatives?"

"No!" Mox said. "But that's _different_, you're-"

-"_Blood?_" Roman finished for him. "Is the difference that I'm blood and you're not?"

Mox stopped his pacing. "Yeah. And that I'm older. I'm not a cute little baby that your family raised from scratch. I'm almost eighteen."

"It doesn't_ matter,_" Roman said. "Blood doesn't make a family, it's love. We _love_ you Mox. Bad past and all, we love you. And we're willing to risk whatever comes our way to have you. If folks want to judge you, and judge all of us for things you had no control over? Well, that's _their_ problem, not ours."

"That's a great thing to say," Mox said, resuming pacing. "But it's too simple. People will judge, but they'll never give me a chance to come forward and tell my side of the story, they'll just assume whatever they want, and they won't get it. They won't get that those final movies I did to _save my life._ They'll never get that even-even the worst ones, the-" he paused and took a deep breath and then blurted it out, "the ones where I was with a girl, younger than I was, I didn't want to do it. God, I didn't want to do it. But it was me or those four guys. Simon, Dennis, and the two creeps who'd grabbed her. And I _tried_ to be as gentle as I could, but I _know_ I hurt her. I hurt her a lot less than those guys would have if they'd been her first, but I still_ hurt_ her. They took her off for awhile anyway, and they all fucked her, and I couldn't stop _that._. Nobody is going to ask me about it, they see those films and what they'll see, at least on the one Ryback saw, is a teenage boy tying up a _kid _and having _sex_ with her." He was keeping his voice down, because Amber was asleep upstairs and the last thing he wanted to do was to wake her up to hear this conversation, but even speaking softly, he felt as if he were shouting. Tears were rolling down his cheeks and he couldn't stop them.

Roman stood up and came over to him. "Bro," he said as he wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. "We _still_ stand by you. That must have been awful, and I wish I could erase it so it never happened. But you were doing what you could in a situation where neither you nor that girl could even hope to win. You tried your best. Anyone who knows you, knows you tried your best, because that's the kind of person you are."

Mox returned the hug, wanting to sob all over Roman, but not able to bring himself to do that. "It doesn't matter," He said. "It's like I have an axe over my head, and I never will know when it's going to come flying down. All I can do is try everything in my power not to attract enough attention that someone picks up the axe."

"Or," Seth said slowly as Roman and Mox drew apart. His voice drifted off, and his brow furrowed in concentration. "Maybe there's another way." he bit his lower lip. "I'm not saying it's the best idea, and it sure isn't the easiest, but it might be the _only_ way to at least stop that feeling like you're living under the axe all the time."

"Okay, what _is_ it, then?" Mox asked, trying to keep from sounding impatient.

"_You_ be the one to talk first," Seth said. "I know that one guy who killed the other guy is in prison, waiting to be tried for murder, but if I've got it straight, you never told anyone what was going on. I mean you told them you'd been kidnapped, right? But never what you were kidnapped for?"

Mox nodded. "I don't even know if that will come into it. Murder is enough. I only told them about the kidnapping to justify why they were in the woods, to make it so they couldn't pretend they were lost, they were there deliberately to find me. I don't even know if that was put in as part of the charges."

"Put them in then," Seth said. "Beat everyone to the punch. When you go home, go to the police-"

"-Sheriff's office," Roman interrupted. But he was looking at Seth carefully.

"Okay, go to the sheriff's office and come clean. Tell them about the abuse, tell them about the movies. I think the FBI handles cases like that, so if you have to, make them get the FBI up to your family's place. You tell _your_ story. _You_ go public. _ You_ talk before_ they_ do. I'm not saying it will be easy or fun, but you beat them to the punch." Seth looked from Roman to Mox. "I'm not saying it will solve all your problems, and it might bring things on faster, but at least that axe won't be swinging, because the axe will at least be in your hands. The movies will be enough proof, insist that asshole is charged for everything he can be. You tell it all and let the aftermath happen. Nobody_ wants_ the aftermath, but isn't it better if it's on your terms?"

Roman nodded. He'd returned to sitting in the chair, while Mox stood. "It's an option. And, that way, if it does bust wide open, people will know about the earlier movies, where you were a little kid, not a teenager, so they'll know you'd been victimized for years. With you being cooperative, maybe you can help the FBI find more guys like Dennis and take them off the streets before they hurt and other kids."

"I can't help much," Mox said, going and sitting down himself, thinking about the idea, but feeling scared too. "If they want me to try to find other kids… I only met a few and we didn't exchange real names. It was sort-of an unwritten rule."

"That isn't for you to figure out, that's for the authorities," Seth said. "You tell them what you know. You get them to add kidnapping, child abuse, and rape of a minor to Dennis's charges and you agree to take the stand. And you tell your story. Even if you can't help much in finding others in the same situation, you'll have had a chance to tell your story. You'll have the chance to let people know exactly what kind of life kidnapped children can be put into."

"I don't like to talk about it," Mox said, but part of him knew what Seth was saying made sense. If he came clean, then at the very least, nobody could spring this as a surprise like Ryback had. He looked at Roman, "I'm _scared_, Roman. It makes sense, but I'm _scared_. All I want to do is forget my past, and all it keeps doing is haunting me."

"I know," Roman said. "But sometimes the best way to exorcise the ghosts of the past, is to confront them head on. But the most important thing is, will you come home? I agree with Seth, that's the best thing to do, come forward and see if some good might come from all that shit you had to go through. But the most important thing, as far as we're all concerned is you. _Please_ come home? _Please_ stop this running when things go bad. Find a way to tell yourself that we are your family and we'll never give up on you. Dude, you could go to Mars and Lance would start building a ship to take us there to get you."

Mox couldn't help but smile at the image, because that _would_ be Lance. He'd get on the net, do research, call some of the real science geeks at his school, and they'd build a rocket. And the smile turned into a laugh, but for some strange reason, the laugh sounded close to a sob. Having Roman and Seth here was making him feel so homesick, as bad as it had gotten when he was here before. Seeing Roman was like seeing a piece of a puzzle and he didn't want a piece, he wanted the whole picture. He buried his head in his hands and tried not to cry. "I fucked up big time, didn't I?" he managed to say.

"No," Roman said. "You made a mistake, but you can fix it. Come home with me. When you were gone earlier this summer, we all felt like a piece was missing from our lives, a hole that we couldn't fill. That hole is meant for you, brother. Please don't leave our family with that hole. It's hard enough that we have to get Seth back home, but his mom and stepfather are all like, 'he's _ours_, we _love_ him, you can't keep him!'" He grinned.

Seth shot Roman a look and rolled his eyes. "As much as I'd love to stay and live at a real, live, wrestling school, I do sorta have school and all. And my stepfather and mother, well, they do love me and all of that."

"I know," Roman said. "But I sure hope you'll be coming back next summer. "I might not be able to wrestle a lot next summer, if I get a scholarship, they'll want me to show up early to get started. Maybe we can convince Dad to hire you for the summer to replace me."

"I could deal with that." Seth's eyes shone as if he could do a lot more than "deal" with it.

"Look," Roman said, turning his attention back to Mox. "When we leave here, we have to drive Seth to Iowa, then we'll be driving home. We'll have a couple days on the road and we can talk about your coming clean to Aaron and if you want those other charges added. I think Seth has a good point, but it's your choice. Just… please come _home." _

"I-I will," Mox said. And he was amazed at the feeling of relief that rushed over him. For the first time, he realized that the Reigns were willing to take him, no matter what. No more worry that if they knew the whole truth, they would abandon him. They knew the worst of it and here was Roman, determined to bring him home.

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

Donna insisted they all spend the night so they'd be well rested and refreshed for the journey the next day. Mox was given the room he'd had when he was here before, Seth and Roman shared Zach's room, with its bunk beds. When everyone was settled, Mox went downstairs and softly knocked on the door to the master bedroom, hoping it was quiet enough not to wake Donna should she be sleeping, but loud enough to alert her if she was. "Come in," she called out softly.

She was sitting on top of the bedspread, still dressed in a pair of shorts and a simple t-shirt, which Mox knew was her sleeping attire. "Am I bugging you?" he asked.

"Not at all." She was reading a book, but she put a bookmark in the place and put it on the nightstand. "What's up?"

He sat down on the end of the bed. "I-I feel bad. I really did come here with every intention of making it work this time, and… well... "

Donna shook her head. "Maybe that's what you thought, but the truth was that you came here because you were running away from something. Yes, I know what that was. Yes, I know you thought it was the honorable thing to do, but it wasn't."

"I know," Mox said, looking down at his jeans. "I just didn't want to hurt them, you know? They're in a more public place. I didn't come here thinking that if it all came out while I was here, that would be better, I wasn't sure if I shouldn't distance myself from you folks too. But I thought that, well, you and Jacob… life in the suburbs, no one was going to question it, I'd just sorta slip right in and I'd at least make it until 18."

Donna nodded. "But you do realize that being eighteen won't solve the problem either. Being eighteen won't change your past and it won't change what happened."

"I know," Mox admitted. "Seth thinks I should come forward with it, all of it. Like talk to the FBI and tell them what was done and even though I don't know much, be willing to help them in any way I could, you know, figure out how to help other kids. I don't think I'd be of much use, but maybe there are things I can tell them that don't seem important to me, but might be to them."

"I think that sounds like a good idea," Donna said. "A scary one, but a good one. And, while that Dennis guy might be facing life in prison or worse just for killing his friend, I think the world should know what else he's done. What he and his friends did to you. You were a victim, Mox. And _so_ many people let you down. _I_ let you down, the _authorities_ let you down. The whole _world_ let you down, Mox. Those guys might have been careful as careful could be, but they had to have made mistakes. Every landlord that didn't care enough to check on what was going on in his property… they let you down. Everyone who watched those.. movies you did and didn't report them,_ they_ let you down. Everyone who just found those movies, on a friend or family's hard drive, whatever, and didn't call the authorities? _They_ let you down."

Mox shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. "I know you were messed up back then, I know I said some pretty mean stuff to you before I left the last time, and I'm not proud of that."

"Why?" Donna asked, bringing her knees up to her chest and putting her arms around them. "I mean, I didn't enjoy it, that's for sure, but you had some good points and you were sticking up for yourself. I love you, Mox. No matter what you do, I will always love you. I may not be your mother anymore, but I was at one point and I can't stop loving you. I can't stop wishing things were different and those men hadn't taken you. But you know what they say about wishes, if they were horses then beggars would ride. Since I can't make my wishes come true, I do want the best thing for you. That's why I signed over custody. I wanted the best thing to be me, but I _wasn't_. It was the Reigns. They love you, Mox. Unconditionally, and they always will. I'll always love you, too, but I think they're much better people for you than I am." When Mox stared at her and looked ready to protest, she waved him off. "I am not saying I am bad or anything like that. I'm a good mother to Amber and Zach. I'm a good wife, and I'm good with the kids at the school. And, if you hadn't been found by the Reigns, I would have done everything I could to be good for you. But you _did_ meet the Reigns and they're what's best for you. I work with kids in my school all the time who have been shuffled through the foster system. They've had it bad, but not as bad as you. But even with them, sometimes nobody wants to foster them. Or they go to so many foster homes and finally find one that will take them in and at least let them stay until they're eighteen, but they aren't loved unconditionally. It's hard to bond with a teenager, especially one with a rough past, but the Reigns bonded with you and you with them. I really do believe none of them could love you anymore had you been born to them. That says a lot about _you._ And, I would be selfish to take you away from that. It took me awhile to realize it, but it's true. I love you _so_ much that I know the best thing I can do is give you up to them. To let you be a Reigns. And you have to love _yourself_ enough to be willing to let go of your past, not the memories, but that self loathing you've been taught, that inability to believe that your past doesn't matter to the people who love you." She looked right into his eyes, blue meeting blue. "Can you do that, Mox? Can you learn to love yourself enough that you can fully trust the Reigns? Fully accept that they will always love you?"

"I-I can't answer that," Mox said slowly, but honestly. "At least not with a yes or no. But I can say that I'm going to try."

"That's all I can ask for," Donna said. "And my offer still stands, if you need a place to live or stay, my door is always open. I mean, who knows, once you're eighteen, you might want to come and do some wrestling for Heartland or other promotions. You might need a place to crash and I'd be happy to put you up. But, not if you're going to run away from your true family, when you haven't even given them a chance to defend themselves. Deal?"

Mox grinned. "Deal," he said, then sighed. "Donna… I know I can't think of you as my mother, even though you were for five years. I-well, that got lost somewhere down the road. But, I do love you. I even love Zach and Amber. I-I don't want to reject you guys."

"I know," Donna said. "And we don't want to reject you, either. So, we'll be your extended family."

"From none to a bunch," Mox said thoughtfully. "I grew up thinking I had no family or ever would. I thought I'd die that way too."

"Well, you didn't. And that's good, Mox, because you're a good person and you deserve all the love and light this world has to offer." She reached over and ruffled his hair, and Mox let her. "Now, I think you need to go get some sleep, you've got a long road trip ahead of you."

"A long ride," Mox repeated, getting a far away look in his eyes. The first part he would get to travel with Seth and Roman, the three of them alone, able to talk freely. That would be great, but then, even better, they'd drop Seth off and he and Roman would head back home, and this time for good.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **This is the end of the story, but there is an epilogue I'll be posting next week. Happy Thanksgiving everyone who celebrates. I might post early for that reason too.

Just an FYI... I have Stuff Going Down in my life. It might be nothing, it might be major. When I know for sure I'll let my readers know. I have at least one shot that I'll be posting after this. I have two other stories I'm working on. If I get them completed and things go (as a friend of mine says) "Tits up" I'll post what I have that is finished. I am going to do my best to finish at least the partially started ones too. But, I might have to take a break.


	22. Chapter 22

_I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying._

-Stephen King

* * *

.

**Epilogue **

_**Three Years Later**_

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

"Okay," Mox said from the middle of the ring. "Come _at_ me, motherfucker!"

The kid in the corner was only a year or so younger than Mox, but he was short, wirey, and had a round face that made him look about sixteen. Another potential Joey Machete, although he had no intention of playing a perpetual loser. This was his first time at a professional wrestling school and his first time professionally wrestling. That, combined with his youthful appearance had earned him the nickname "Cisco" from Sefa, who had told him they'd use the song by War, _Cisco Kid_ as his theme music, _if _he ever got good enough to be on Saturday nights.

Cisco (even Mox had forgotten his real name by now) ran towards him, head lowered, getting ready to go into a spear. Just before he could get to him, Mox neatly sidestepped him, hooked his arm around Cisco's waist, spun him around and dropped him on the mat, then fell next to him, putting him into pin position. But instead of pinning him, he stood up and looked at the other campers watching from outside of the ring. "And _that's_ how you do it," he said.

The group looked at him, almost in awe, which didn't surprise Mox. This whole group was as green as Perennial Ryegrass, which was why they were all in this group. The campers with more experience were working with other instructors but Mox didn't mind, he liked the green guys, he found it easier to weed out the ones that were trying this as a lark from the ones that would take it seriously.

Mox considered himself to be in a good place, both mentally and physically. When he and Roman came home from that road trip, he talked to his folks and told them he wanted to take Seth's advice and come forward, before anyone else did. Jen hadn't been thrilled with the idea, but when Sefa told him he thought it was a good suggestion, she reluctantly agreed, maybe it was for the best.

Sefa drove him down to the sheriff's office and Mox spent what seemed like an eternity, telling Aaron everything. Aaron listened and the next step was the FBI got involved, which had been a lot harder, because Aaron had told them he was "Little Timmy" so they came up knowing what he'd done. And at first, nobody seemed to care about the movies that were made when he was a kid, they were more concerned about the Suzie movies. There was enough of an age gap between him and Suzie that Mox could have been arrested for first degree sexual assault on a child. Sefa, who had insisted that as his guardian, he be present at every questioning, asked the agent, a big guy named Larry, if Mox should go silent until he was able to hire a lawyer.

When Larry said that they hadn't arrested him, yet, Sefa visibly stiffened. Mox had wanted to run, wished he still had those pills he'd been given once, the ones that took you to that magical land of "don't-give-a-fuck," but knowing he had to do this, that bolting would make it worse, he explained to Larry and his partner Yolanda, what had happened. How he hadn't wanted to touch "Suzie," but he was ordered to, and if he hadn't done it, Suzie would have her first experience by being gang raped by four guys who wouldn't worry about being delicate, they would have happily ripped her apart. And he would have been beaten, possibly to death.

"I don't want to be arrested," Mox said. "But if that's what you've got to do, then do it. I guess I'll have to go to court and take my chances. I just want to be able to testify against Dennis, because I want him to pay. And I am really sorry I didn't let Suzie tell me her real name, I thought I was doing her a favor by letting her keep her name. I'm sorry that I didn't see or hear more, but I was kept locked up most of the time, I never dreamed it would someday matter. But, anything I do know, I am willing to tell you. Maybe you can think of things that I can't, that would help you."

Sefa had reminded them that they couldn't call that a confession, because he hadn't been arrested and read his rights. Larry had sighed so loud it sounded like he was trying to fill a balloon. Yolanda, the other partner said that under the circumstances, since Mox was cooperating, and since there was plenty of video evidence that he had been a victim too, when he was even younger than Suzie, so maybe they could work something out. If Mox agreed to give his full cooperation, maybe they wouldn't press charges.

"Of course, if Suzie is ever found and wants charges brought up against you, that's another story, she'll have that right." Yolanda warned him.

"I know," Mox said, "But, if she is alive, I don't think she'll bring me up on charges She knows I did what I had to do to protect her."

"_Alive?"_ Larry had leaned over the table, getting into Mox's face, which made Sefa stiffen "Do you have a reason to believe she's dead?"

So, Mox had to explain that from what he knew and what he'd been told, when a kid got too old, which was usually about the time the time signs of puberty couldn't be hidden anymore, the kid was either killed by whoever took them, or turned over to someone else who got off on rape/torture/murder and not necessarily in that order. This had gotten Larry and Yolanda excited and anxious, so Mox did warn them that Simon and Dennis had lied to him, like about planting a bomb in him that would kill everyone around him if he ran off. Sefa nodded as he said that and told them if they didn't believe him, Sefa could get witnesses to tell them that Mox really believed this and they had to prove it to him by using the local vet to scan for the chip and prove it wasn't there.

That's when Yolanda asked him if he'd be willing to talk to Dennis. Sometimes kidnappers had a strangely warped affection for their victims, and would tell them things they wouldn't say to the police.

Mox really didn't want to do it, but if it would help, he would and he started to say yes, but at the same time Sefa said no, so they'd argued about that, finally Sefa told the agents that if Mox was willing, he'd let him, but in return, Mox deserved immunity on any criminal charges pertaining to this, and someone had to be with him when he talked to Dennis.

Yolonda and Larry agreed to the first part, but the second was trickier. "He might not open up and talk if there's someone else there. But, it will be recorded, we'd do that anyway. And, Dennis will be chained to the table, because we'd like to do this in a private room, not the normal visiting areas with the phones." And even though Mox hadn't liked that idea either, he had agreed.

Mox had gone twice to visit Dennis and both times puked when it was done, right in the restroom for visitors. But he had gotten some information, including the internet handle of the man who was called when it was time to get rid of a child.

That had not been a good couple of years. although some great things had happened. Mox got his GED, his drivers license, and a new birth certificate that listed his name as Jon Moxley Reigns. But the spaces between those events were filled with court appearances, the visits to Dennis, and hours of cooperating with the FBI, which included looking at pictures of kids taken from movies, to see if he could identify any of them as kids he had worked with. Or, they wanted to see how many movies he made and had they managed to get copies of all of them. Mox lied on that one and said he was pretty sure they had, because he couldn't even remember how many movies he'd made.

And, eventually the press did find out, which relieved and scared Mox. But, to his surprise, the Suzie films never made it into the trial as evidence. Nor did _Little Timmy Tames a Cougar_, or any of the films he made when he was older. And since the prosecution didn't present them as evidence, the defense didn't have them either. So, Mox was treated as a sympathetic figure, nothing but a victim.

Of course, the word eventually _did_ get around about the other movies, and he was judged by that, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Most of the major news sources ignored it and it seems most people were willing to ignore it, at least around him. Not that he didn't have some folks getting judgy and Sefa ended up kicking out a student for asking Mox if he'd fucked any kids lately. And, Mox got some pretty nasty email. Or, he got emails that forgave him, from people who he didn't know, didn't care about, and had neither the patience or the time to explain the truth.

He also had a crazy woman who looked to be in her 50s, sending him snail mail, with pictures and long, rambling letters claiming to be little Suzie and that she forgave him, because she knew deep down inside, he hadn't attacked her or raped her, they'd made love and she wanted him back.

He had turned those letters over to the FBI, and he guessed someone was able to find her and went and talked to her, because those almost daily letters came to an abrupt stop.

But what surprised him the most when he looked back, was how fast it was all over with. While it was happening, when he was going to court, it seemed endless. Even after Dennis was found guilty at the first trial for murder, and the second trial for all the charges of child pornography, kidnapping, child endangerment, first degree child molestation, and more, it still seemed to drag on and even worse, it cut into his wrestling time. But now, he could look back and tell himself it could have been so much worse, gone on even longer.

And once it was over, he was over eighteen and he started wrestling in the indies. Small promotions, but he didn't care. In fact, he loved it, because the small promotions never handed him a script, they just said, "Make a promo… just make sure you mention who your fighting and when the fight will be at least twice. Otherwise, have at it."

Although Florida was his "home base" he spent most of his time on the road. He stayed with other wrestlers, he'd even "camped" in a few parks, something he never told Jen about. Since small time promotions didn't pay very well, if they even paid at all, he learned the places you could go and if people needed day labor, they'd hire you and pay you cash when the day was done.

This summer though, he was working at SPWA. He could still have been doing the indie circuit, but his family needed him because Marc and Noella, after living together these last few years, had finally gotten married and then decided to go on a two month honeymoon and visit all the major American Samoa islands. So, Mox had taken over for him. He was enjoying it, he liked training the greens, and he'd enjoyed the teen sessions earlier that month. And, he still was in the Saturday and Sunday shows, wrestling whoever Sefa thought was worthy of the privilege, so it wasn't like he was going to collect any ring rust this summer. He wasn't sure where he'd be going when Marc was back, which would be in a few days, but he wasn't worried, he could always go to Heartland, they loved him up there, and he might even make the TV show again. Or, he could go to WVW, which was one of the tinier promotions, but a lot of fun, and they were always doing invasions or being invaded by another promotion, which gave him lots of opportunities to be seen.

As he was sending the group off to lunch at the dining hall, he saw Lance coming down the hill. Lance, who was now barely 14 years old and growing like bamboo. His hair was still long too, much to Roman's disappointment, because he was still holding Roman to his promise not to cut his hair until Lance did. He was a cancer _survivor_ now, and the doctors had removed his port. He still loved to wrestle and the kid had managed to graduate from his school for the gifted last year, and would be going to college in a couple weeks. "It's all on the state, too," he'd bragged. "At least the next couple years. Because they're obligated to educate me until I'm sixteen."

"Mox!" Lance called as he hurried down the hill. "Dad's in the house, he wants to talk to you, so I hope you weren't going to eat in the mess hall."

"Are you kidding?" Mox scoffed, "Mom made meatloaf last night… and I know she made extra, which means meatloaf sandwiches."

"She made _bread_ too," Lance admitted with a grin. "I could smell it at the house."

"Well, heck, then what are we standing around here for?" Mox ran off, calling behind him, "Last one to the door has to do the dishes!"

"Oh, you are _so_ unfair," Lance called and began running, trying to catch up.

They both got to the door at the same time. "I guess we're both going to have to do them," Mox said.

"Unless we can talk Roman into doing them," Lance said grinning

Mox looked at his youngest brother carefully, noticing his eyes were shining a little too bright and he had that jittery look to him he always got when he was trying to keep a secret. "What's going on?" Mox asked.

"Nothing," Lance said, reaching for the door. "Just hungry for meatloaf sandwiches."

"Yeah?" Mox followed him into the mudroom. "Meatloaf sandwiches are awesome, but you're acting like a spider on a gri-" He stopped as he walked in the kitchen.

Someone was sitting in the spot Marc used to sit at, and it sure wasn't Marc. "Seth!" Mox called out.

"Mox!" Seth rose from the chair and went over to hug him. Mox hugged him back, just as eagerly. "When did you get here?"

"A little bit ago," Seth said. He pointed to Roman who was sitting across from him at his usual spot. "We weren't even done catching each other up when you just walked in."

Mox looked at Roman, "Did you know he was coming?"

Roman shook his head. "No clue. I was helping Mom set the table when he knocked on the door and I let him in."

"Well, this is _awesome!"_ Mox said. "But, why are you here?"

"Because I asked him to come here," Sefa said, coming into the kitchen.

"Okay, _still_ awesome," Mox said, "But is there a reason? I mean, I know Roman has to head off to college Monday, but Marc'll be back Friday, and if you need more help, I'll stay on longer."

Sefa sat down at the table, and so did Mox and Seth, who were sitting next to each other. "Mox, you're fired."

Mox stared at his dad in disbelief. "What?" He looked over at Jen, who was bringing a platter of sandwiches to the table. He really thought she would look upset, but she didn't, in fact, she was smiling. And Lance and Roman were smiling, and Seth was not only smiling, but looking like he'd burst out of his skin in excitement. "Okay," Mox drew out the word and looked at his father, who was also smiling, something Mox was pretty sure he didn't do when he was firing someone. "So, why am I fired?"

"Because you have to go to Tampa today," Sefa said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Why do I have to go to Tampa today?" Mox asked. "For that matter, why do I have to go to Tampa at all?"

"You have to go today because it's a three hour drive and I want you and Seth down there early enough to get a good night's sleep."

"Why?" Mox felt stupid, saying saying the world all the time, but Sefa was being so slow about giving out information. "C'mon Dad, _spill _it."

"Stop teasing your son," Jen said.

"All right, all right, take away my fun," Sefa said, but he was grinning. "Seth already knows this, but the two of you have a tryout tomorrow at six am sharp. With FCW."

For a moment, the letters didn't click in Mox's head. He knew it was a promotion of some type, it had three letters and one of them was a W, of course it was a promotion, why was this one so-

"_Florida Championship Wrestling!"_ Seth burst out, unable to contain himself, "It's developmental for the WWE! And your dad got us _tryouts!"_

"Don't make it sound like I pulled strings," Sefa said. "Because I didn't. They called me about you, Mox. Someone at WWE must have seen you on the website or one of those times you were on Heartland's show and realized you have a boatload of talent. They also knew you were my son, and they asked me if you were available for tryouts and I said yes. Then they asked me if I knew anyone else I thought was worthy of a try out. And I thought of Seth and called him. I've known about this since Monday, but I wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Holy crap," Mox said, hardly believing what he was hearing. "They asked about me? Like specifically_ me?"_

"Yes, you," Sefa said, shaking his head and helping himself to one of the meatloaf sandwiches.

"Why are you surprised?" Roman asked. "You're good!"

"And if they want to make you a tag team, you guys will rock their socks off!" Lance piped up.

"I know we're good," Mox said. "But… _WWE_. My past…" he trailed off, not wanting to say anymore outloud

"Your past is your past," Jen said, taking a sandwich off the platter and putting it on Mox's plate, because he'd been too shocked to take one for himself.

Roman looked over at him. "How long do we have to keep telling you, bro, the only person who cares about your past is you. It was horrible, it was terrible, and for those things, you've got to get through it, but as far as everyone else goes? It doesn't matter nearly as much to them as it does to you. WWE wants you to try out for FCW because you're a damned good wrestler."

.

{o}-{o}-{o}

.

It took a couple hours before Mox was ready, because Jen insisted he eat lunch, which he really didn't mind, because it _was _meatloaf sandwiches after all. While he ate, Sefa told them about someone he knew down in Tampa, who had a tiny, two bedroom cottage that needed some work.

"Nothing you two can't handle," Sefa assured them. "The whole yard is a mess, you'll have to clean that up. Inside probably needs a good cleaning too, and maybe some paint. My friend is willing to let you stay there rent free until you get it cleaned up and looking good, then he promised you could have it for a reasonable rent."

When Mox pointed out that trying out for FCW wasn't quite the same as getting _accepted_ into FCW, Sefa shrugged and looked at him as if he was getting a little exasperated at all this negativity. Of _course_ Mox and Seth would be accepted.

When lunch was over, Mox raced upstairs to pack. He grabbed his largest duffel bag and threw most of his clothes in that. Then, he found a smaller one and packed his laptop, a few books, his portable CD player and a few of his favorite CD's. Tampa was only a three hour drive, if he forgot something he couldn't live without, he'd be back soon enough to get it. It would be worth a three hour drive to have mom's homemade cooking.

As they said their goodbyes, Mox looked wistfully at Roman. "If we get in, and that football thing doesn't work for you…"

"Then I'll give wrestling a shot," Roman said. "But in the meantime, it's up to you to hold up the proud family tradition."

"I know," Mox agreed, "But it would be so _cool_ if we could reform the Citadel someday, you know?"

Roman nodded. "I see your point, and as I promised you before, if football doesn't work out, I'll give wrestling my best shot."

Hugs were exchanged and promises to text or call when they got there. Mox didn't have a car, but Seth had an old Toyota his stepfather gave him for graduation, and they were taking that.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Mox waved frantically, and his family waved back. _My family, _ he thought, as Seth headed to the highway. _I don't think I'll ever get tired of saying it or even thinking about it. My **family.** My name is Jon Moxley **Reigns** and those folks waving are my family. Forever. _

The End.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Happy Thanksgiving for those who celebrate it. I hope all of you have plenty to be thankful for.

Peace Out

Willow


End file.
